Roger Stone, the self-proclaimed dirty trickster whose sentence for lying to Congress was recently commuted by President Donald Trump, complained to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday night that the “system” was “fixed.”
Days before Stone was to report to prison for 40 months, the president finally did what he had long hinted at, and commuted his longtime adviser’s sentence, describing Stone as “a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency.”
In Stone’s first television interview since he was spared jail, he immediately praised Hannity and fellow Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a longtime friend of Stone’s, for advocating for his clemency.
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“You have been a tremendous friend,” the conservative political operative bellowed. “You have done a great job of keeping people informed. But I have to really single out your Fox News colleague Tucker Carlson.”
Noting that Carlson took up his cause early on, Stone lauded the Fox News star for not being afraid to “take on the judge” and encouraging him whenever he became “discouraged.”
“He’s a man of incredible loyalty and he’s a great friend,” he added. “He may be the best friend a man can have, so my hat’s off to him.”
Stone also thanked several other pro-Trump figures for having his back, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), saying he hopes to “live long enough to see [Gaetz] in the White House.”
Stone spent much of the interview repeating the president’s favorite refrain about the Russia investigation, calling it a “hoax” while saying prosecutors wanted him to flip on Trump because they knew there was “no Russian collusion.”
“I didn’t have to think about it very long,” he declared. “I said absolutely not. There was no circumstance under which I would bear false witness against the president.”
“What I said has been consistent, that I would not lie against my friend of 40 years so they could use it for impeachment,” Stone added. “They wanted me to be the ham in their ham sandwich because they knew the Mueller report, particularly on Russia, was a dud.”
Hannity, also a close confidant of the president’s, grumbled about the number of Trump associates who have been prosecuted and convicted. Hannity said he is “losing faith in the system,” and Stone said he agreed with the Fox star.
“I’m afraid this is a fixed system,” Stone asserted, pointing to the fact that he’d lost his appeal for a delay in his prison sentence.
Stone went on to heap additional praise on the president, saying it was a “courageous act” for Trump to give him clemency since many of his White House advisers were telling him not to do it in an election year.
“He’s a man of great justice and fairness,” he exclaimed. “He’s a man of enormous courage. I knew he would take some shots for this, but I think most people, most fair-minded people, understand he saved my life and at least on paper he gave me a chance to fight for vindication.”
