President Donald Trump’s longtime pal Roger Stone is so desperate for money to pay his mounting legal bills that he has resorted to taking speaking gigs at strip clubs surrounded by fascist bodyguards.
The FBI arrested Stone in January at his home in a televised raid after Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted him “on seven counts, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering” in connection with his coordination of the release of Hillary Clinton’s illegally obtained emails by Wikileaks, which received the stolen material from Russian hackers.
Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen described his former boss’s relationship with Stone during his opening statement to Congress earlier this year.
“Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails,” Cohen said. “In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump’s office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of “wouldn’t that be great.””
Stone has also been under fire from the judge in his case over remarks he made about the investigation, including an Instagram post in which he suggested the judge be assassinated.
Needless to say, Stone’s legal trouble has put him in a financial bind. So much so that The Daily Beast is reporting that he is speaking at strip clubs for cash.
Stone has fallen on hard financial times since he was arrested on federal charges late last year. President Trump’s long-time political adviser is currently awaiting trial on several counts relating to his alleged communications with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. After pleading not guilty, he was let out on a $250,000 bond. That and lawyers’ fees have rendered him effectively bankrupt, he says.
On top of that, a judge forbade him from from discussing the case in public.
“But he’s still talking, and still pulling in much-needed money from public appearances like his upcoming meet-and-greet at Paper Moon strip club in Richmond next month,” the Beast’s Kelly Weill reports. “Some local activists want to put an end to the appearance, citing a violent ultra-nationalist group that often acts as Stone’s security force, the Proud Boys.”
Stone has fallen quite far since associating himself with Trump, who has not jumped to his rescue. Even the Nixon Foundation distanced itself from Stone and gave him the “coffee boy” treatment.
But it’s safe to say that Stone has more to worry about than his legal fees. His alleged crimes could put him in prison for several years like his buddy Paul Manafort, and Mueller must have a strong case. So far, he hasn’t lost one yet, managing to either extract plea deals or get guilty verdicts in every case against a former Trump associate. So, Stone probably better enjoy those strip clubs, because he may not see another one for a long time.
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