Since cashing a check from the reelection campaign of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in March, notorious political dirty trickster Roger Stone has furiously defended the congressman amid a firestorm surrounding a federal investigation into his activities. On his social media accounts and in an interview with Infowars’ Alex Jones, Stone attacked the story as a conspiracy between the media and the “deep state” intended to derail a future Gaetz run for president.
The Daily Beast reported that federal campaign finance disclosures reveal Gaetz’s campaign paid Stone’s Drake Ventures $5,000 for “strategic political consulting” fees on March 24. It was the first time the campaign had ever made a payment to the firm. Six days later, the New York Times reported that Gaetz has been under federal investigation for alleged sex trafficking.
Hours after that story broke, Gaetz went on the program of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, an apparent personal friend of Stone’s, to defend himself. The Florida congressman denied the report and alleged that he had been the victim of an attempted extortion. The interview went poorly, and Fox seemed to abandon Gaetz, who had built his political brand through appearances on the network, amid disastrous reports about his behavior which eventually triggered a House Ethics Committee probe. Continue reading.