A controversial ally of President Trump who could be facing 50 years behind bars is no stranger to The Villages – and his future and potential pardon are top of mind for those who have met him here in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Roger Stone, who was found guilty this past Friday of lying to Congress and obstructing an investigation into Russian collusion to protect the president, has spoken to members of Villagers for Trump twice, with his last visit being this past April. During that packed-house appearance at the Lake Miona Recreation Center, the 67-year-old who was under indictment on charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller received a standing ovation as he took the stage.
“Let me tell you the main reason I’m here,” Stone said, after explaining that he was forbidden by a gag order from discussing his indictment or Mueller’s investigation. “As I have for the last 40 years, I stand with President Donald Trump,” he said of his longtime friend, who spoke at an invitation-only event at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center last month and is the target of ongoing impeachment hearings.
On Sunday, longtime Trump supporter Jim Volpe, who has met Stone four times and also chatted with the president in November at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, said Stone didn’t stand a chance.
“For starters, the judge was stacked against him,” Volpe said of 65-year-old Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who was nominated by President Obama and in February admonished Stone for posting a photograph of her on Instagram that appears to be next to a crosshairs symbol. “The jury was stacked and the Mueller team was also stacked.”
Volpe said he believes Trump will pardon Stone and the country will soon see a different story unfold when Attorney General William Barr completes his criminal investigation into the origins of the Russian probe and the FBI’s alleged spying of the Trump campaign in 2016.
“Bill Barr is doing it right with a criminal investigation,” the Village of Hillsborough resident said. “When he’s finished, I think we’ll see some people who were given jail sentences set free.”
David Gee, founder and president of the fast-growing Villagers for Trump club, said the case against Stone came about through false Democratic information on Russian collusion and resulted in Mueller’s appointment and the ensnarement of several of Trump’s associates, including Stone, political consultant Paul Manafort and Gen. Michael Flynn, among others.
“Many on the left are gloating over the court’s decision to find Stone guilty of all counts,” Gee said of the five felony counts of lying to investigators, one count of obstructing a congressional probe and one count of witness tampering. “I say soon it will be revealed that the radical Dems have done all to take Trump and his associates down so they would not be exposed of their unlawful acts. Their day is fast approaching.”
Gee said he believes many in the “Deep State” will fall hard when Barr completes his probe.
“When the report is released, Trump will find it easy to pardon Stone and others,” he said.
Veteran campaigner Sid Bowdidge, who serves as executive director of Villagers for Trump and played a vital role in the president’s 2016 election victory, said he doesn’t believe Trump will pardon Stone because it would do nothing to help his re-election campaign.
“Although I admire Roger Stone for standing up for his friend, we’re not talking about a game of poker gone wrong here,” Bowdidge said. “We’re talking about lying under oath to Congress. Not a smart idea.”
Bowdidge cited Stone’s social media post of Judge Jackson as just one of the many controversial issues connected to the longtime political strategist who also worked on campaigns for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Bob Dole.
“Roger Stone seems to lack good judgment,” Bowdidge said. “For that reason, I don’t feel bad for him.”
During Stone’s April appearance at the Villagers for Trump rally, he talked generically about his January arrest when he was taken from his South Florida home in shackles. In a private interview with Villages-News.com, he said he appreciated the support of crowds like the one who came to hear him speak in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
“Over 38,000 Americans have contributed to my legal defense fund,” he said. “I find the reaction that people offer me, not only their prayers but their contributions, really heartening.”
Stone, who also spoke in Ocala in August, told The Villages crowd that greatness doesn’t come in victory, but rather from how many times you get up when you have been knocked down.
“A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is only finished when he quits,” Stone said, quoting his mentor, President Nixon. “Donald Trump will never quit trying to make America great again and I will never quit trying to clear my name.”
Shortly after Stone’s conviction, Trump tweeted: “So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come. Well, what about Crooked Hillary, Comey, Strzok, Page, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper, Shifty Schiff, Ohr & Nellie, Steele & all of the others, including even Mueller himself? Didn’t they lie? …. A double standard like never seen before in the history of our Country?”
Despite objections from prosecutors, Stone will remain free until his sentencing on Feb. 6. He is expected to appeal the verdict and hope that Trump eventually comes through with a pardon, sources say.
