Yahoo Movies Who is Roger Stone? Trump ally and Republican strategist whose clemency grant was seized
An executive grant of clemency was among the documents the FBI seized in a raid of former President Trump's Mar-A-Lago residence.
No stranger to headlines, Roger Stone has been involved in Republican politics for decades.
The self-proclaimed "agent provocateur" has served as strategic counsel to GOP candidates dating back to the late 1960s and his cut-throat political tactics earned him a spot as one of president Trump's key advisors.
Stone played a crucial role in Trump’s 2016 campaign strategy and emerging testimony from the Jan. 6 committee places him at the center of the push to overturn the 2020 election.
He’s known Trump for over 30 years and has been the not-so-silent hand behind Trump’s entry into American politics. Stone’s political pedigree stretches far beyond Trumpism. His history with the Republican Party and the far-right movement includes ties to the Proud Boys, Wikileaks and even the Watergate scandal.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who does Roger Stone do for a living?
Roger Stone is a political strategist. He has worked with candidates from Nixon to Ronald Reagan to Bob Dole, and his influence in Republican politics spans decades. His bravado has pushed him to the forefront of the national political scene.
A self-described “dirty-trickster,” Stone pioneered a form of negative campaign ads that can still be found on television today, and his slash and burn tactics have become a hallmark of American politics.
Does Roger Stone still support Trump?
This is a matter up for debate. Roger Stone is perhaps the most longtime member of Trump’s political fan club, encouraging to him to run for office and organizing events for him as early as the 1980s. His staunch support of the president earned him a commuted sentence for his charge in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In 2019 Stone was convicted of seven felonies in connection with the Mueller investigation: obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress, and tampering with a witness. Though Trump granted him clemency just before he was set to serve his 40-month prison sentence, Mueller himself wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post calling him a "convicted felon" and detailed his dealings with Russian intelligence officers in the run-up to the election.
Tapes released by the Washington Post, however indicate that Stone was angered by Trump’s unwillingness to pardon him and other allies in the wake of the Capitol riot. The video shows Stone telling a friend that Trump was a “disgrace” and that he “betrayed everybody.”
In her stunning testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed that Trump had instructed her boss, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, to reach out to both Stone and political adviser Michael Flynn on Jan. 5, 2021. The same day Flynn was joined by podcast host Alex Jones, and “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander at a rally on Freedom Plaza near the White House which referenced 1776 and stolen election claims repeatedly.
Hutchinson testified that she did not know what the conversation was about and Stone denied that any conversation took place, but the hearing marked the first time it was revealed Trump had attempted to contact both Stone and Flynn the day before the attack at the Capitol.
All that said, Stone has still indicated he would support at Trump bid for the presidency in 2024.
Read more Roger Stone news: Roger Stone's Nixon back tattoo, Netflix documentary and more odd facts about Trump's associate
What happened between Roger Stone and Steve Bannon?
Stone has reportedly long held a grudge against fellow Trump ally Steve Bannon for testifying against him during his criminal trial in 2019. The feud continued earlier this summer when Bannon was charged with contempt of congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 committee. Stone took to social media to taunt him, writing “BYE STEVE.”
Bannon's trial is already underway with opening arguments beginning Tuesday. Stone has chosen to plead the Fifth in his own dealings with the committee.
Who is Roger Stone’s wife?
Roger Stone’s wife is Nydia Stone; the two were married in 1992. The couple recently made headlines by trying to settle a $2 million dollar lawsuit with the Justice Department over unpaid taxes. Stone has claimed the case is politically motivated.
Stone and his wife made headlines once before in the mid ‘90s when The National Enquirer printed that they had put out ads soliciting additional sexual partners in swingers’ magazines. After initially denying the ads were authentic, Stone admitted they were in a 2008 interview.
How old is Roger Stone?
69 years old.
Does Roger Stone have a daughter?
Stone has a daughter named Adria. She gained public attention when she appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show to personally petition Trump for a pardon for her father.
More of our January 6th coverage here: Trump called White House staffer who spoke to Jan. 6 committee: reports
Where was Roger Stone born?
Stone is from Norwalk, Connecticut. He was born there in 1952 into a family he has described as middle-class, blue-collar Catholics, according to a story in the Washington Post in 1985.
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What are the Roger Stone tapes?
Following in the footsteps of Nixon, Stone now too has a set of noteworthy tapes. Filmed by a Danish crew that was following the political operative as part of a documentary, the tapes show Stone leading up to and during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Obtained by the Washington Post in March, the footage documents Stone as he organizes post-election protests and communicates with far-right militia groups later found to be involved in the attack on the Capitol.
Footage, reviewed by the Post also shows Stone on Jan. 6 packing up bags and preparing to leave Washington on a private flight. "I really want to get out of here" he says, mentioning a fear of prosecution from incoming Attorney General Merrick Garland.
How is Roger Stone connected to January 6th?
Roger Stone//, if not already a household name, may become even more so since being name-checked several times by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The select committee found that Stone interacted with extremist groups present at the riot, and recent footage released by the committee shows him taking the Proud Boys oath, declaring himself a "Western chauvinist."
In the days following the attack, the political operative lobbied the president to follow a document he had dubbed the "Stone Plan," which encouraged Trump to preemptively pardon prominent Republican lawmakers, Stone himself and “the America First movement” for any crimes that could be related to the attempts made to overturn the 2020 election.
More on Roger Stone's Jan 6th involvement: Roger Stone served with Jan. 6 Capitol riot lawsuit during live radio interview
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roger Stone grant of clemency discovered. Get to know the Trump ally.
