Informal Trump advisor Roger Stone says his legal bills have mounted to $467,000 and is pleading with fans to help him defend himself against swirling Russia probes.
Stone, who exchanged messages with hacker Guccifer 2.0 during the campaign and claims to have communicated with WikiLeaks through an intermediary, said contributions of $25 to $1,000 would be a ‘Godsend,’ as he tries to take down investigators.
Stone refers to special counsel Robert Mueller as the ‘deep state executioner,’ and describes himself as a victim of ‘endless and fruitless investigations by the house and senate intelligence committees’ and other harassment.
‘I will NEVER be deterred from pushing back against their divisive, hateful, profane animus and endless self-dealing machinations,’ Stone writes in a letter to supporters. ‘EVER, he continued. ‘But the price has been extremely high to my family and to me personally,’ Stone writes, going into his pitch.
Longtime informal Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone is soliciting funds for his legal defense
‘Let’s be as clear as possible this witch hunt investigation and this baseless lawsuit as well as the mainstream media smears are meant to distract me and sideline me in the coming fight in which deep state executioner Robert Mueller tries to take out Donald trump with a bogus, manufactured and coerced charge,’ Stone writes.
‘Friend, I’m facing a $500K price tag to clear my name of the Deep State’s baseless charges!’ he urges his supporters. The full letter was published by Politico.
He also inveighed against an invasion of privacy lawsuit filed by a nonprofit run by former Obama administration lawyers. The suit claims people whose personal information got released by the DNC hack suffered damage, and accuse Stone of colluding in the breach.
‘These vindictive, deceitful partisans have already proven they are ready and willing to abuse our legal system, misuse official power and corrupt any institution necessary, including justice, in order to bankrupt my family, distract me from my mission, stop me from intervening in the impending take down of my friend of 40 years President Donald J. Trump, and finally destroy me personally, any and every way they can,’ writes Stone.
Roger Stone, advisor to President Trump, arrives in the Capitol to speak with the House Intelligence Committee on possible Russian interference in the 2016 election on September 26, 201
Stone is urging people to donate to his legal defense fund
Stone testified this summer before the House Intelligence Committee in its probe of Russian election interference.
His defense team is burdened by some of Trump’s own boasts online, including one that appeared before Hillary Clinton chief of staff John Podesta’s emails were posted on WikiLeaks.
‘Trust me, it will soon [be] the Podesta’s time in the barrel,’ Stone tweeted August 221, 206.
Podesta’s emails were released in October, throwing the Clinton campaign into turmoil.
He also has posted his own communications with hacker Guccifer 2.0, and has pushed back on claims he had any advance knowledge of the hack.
In June, long-time Trump crony Roger Stone tweeted that it would soon be Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robert Podesta’s ‘time in the barrel’
He calls the top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committee ‘hatchet men.’
‘I have been forced to respond to Democrat hatchet men like Representative Adam Schiff and Senator Mark Warner. They have impugned my patriotism. They have defamed me in public hearings. They have falsely accused me of working for the Russians and of being involved in the hacking of the DNC.’
Stone continues: ‘They falsely credit me with being behind the publication of highly embarrassing but 100% authentic emails that proved to the world how Hillary Clinton is as craven, corrupt and greedy as we have always thought, going back to the day she first rode into the White House, on her husband’s back, 25 years ago.’
The social media service barred Stone after he unleashed an expletive-filled tirade on Friday aimed at CNN commentators
Testifying before the House panel in September, Stone answered questions but refused to divulge the name of his intermediary with WikiLeaks. He said the person was a journalist and he didn’t want to expose them.
He said after his appearance, ‘I expressed my view that I’m aware of no evidence whatsoever of collusion by the Russian state or anyone in the Trump campaign or anyone associated with Donald Trump.’
Stone got permanently banned from Twitter last month, after he unleashed an expletive-filled tirade on Friday aimed at CNN commentators.
In a tweet addressed to anchor Don Lemon, Stone wrote: ‘There are no credible “fact checks” that clear the Clintons on uranium. Even the people at CNN say you are a buffoon behind your back.’
Stone was referring to the sale of American uranium to a Russian government-backed company during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state under President Barack Obama.
Roger Stone speaks to the media at Trump Tower on December 6, 2016 in New York City
Republicans are alleging that Clinton helped push forward the deal after former President Bill Clinton received $500,000 for a speech from Russian entities involved in the acquisition.
Stone also took aim on Twitter at New York Times columnist Charles Blow, a frequent guest on CNN.
‘You like, you have no [credibility], you fast-talking arrogant fake news piece of s***!’ Stone tweeted.
Stone then went after Lemon once again, tweeting: ‘You come across on TV as a dull-witted arrogant party boy [sic]. You lie constantly and no one who knows you thinks you are bright.’