Roger Jason Stone Jr. (born August 27, 1952) is an American political consultant, author, lobbyist and strategist known for his use of opposition research, usually for candidates of the Republican Party. Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians such as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole and Donald Trump.In addition to serving as a frequent campaign advisor, Stone was previously a political lobbyist. In 1980, he co-founded the Washington, D.C.–based lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone with principals Paul Manafort and Charles R. Black Jr. The firm recruited Peter G. Kelly and was renamed Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly in 1984. During the 1980s, BMSK became a top lobbying firm by leveraging its White House connections to attract high-paying clients including U.S. corporations, trade associations, and foreign governments. By 1990, it was one of the leading lobbyists for American companies and foreign organizations.
Stone is a self-described "dirty trickster" and has variously been referred to in media as a "renowned infighter", a "seasoned practitioner of hard-edged politics", a "mendacious windbag", a "veteran Republican strategist", and a political fixer. Over the course of the Trump presidential campaign, Stone promoted a number of falsehoods and conspiracy theories. He has described his political modus operandi as "Attack, attack, attack—never defend" and "Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack."
Stone is the subject of a Netflix documentary film, titled Get Me Roger Stone, which focuses on his past and on his role in the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Stone first suggested Trump run for President in the early 1998 while Stone was Trump's casino business lobbyist in Washington.
Stone officially left the Trump campaign on August 8, 2015; however, as part of the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States election, two associates of Stone have claimed he collaborated with WikiLeaks owner Julian Assange in early 2016 to discredit Hillary Clinton's campaign. Stone has denied this.[28] Assange has denied this.
On January 25, 2019, Stone was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at his home, in connection with Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation and charged in a seven-count indictment: one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering.
