Trump's Unofficial Aide: "I Will Do Anything to Get My Candidate Elected"

"Trump Will Succeed in Re-election"

Roger Stone [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The reason why U.S. President Donald Trump effectively pardoned his '40-year confidant' political consultant Roger Stone has been revealed. Stone declared himself as the 'savior' for Trump's reelection campaign, which was in a zero-hour situation.

On the 13th (local time), the internet media Axios reported that Stone stated in an interview that since he would not die in a filthy hellish place due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), he would act for President Trump.

Stone said, "Except for breaking the law, I will do whatever is necessary to get my candidate elected."

Stone made it clear that he intends to repay Trump for pardoning him, fully aware that the president's pardon could spark controversy over abuse of power.

Stone, who was sentenced to 40 months in prison over the Russia scandal and was scheduled to begin serving his sentence on the 14th, was effectively pardoned on the night of the 10th by President Trump through a commutation of his entire prison term.

In the interview, Stone confidently predicted that President Trump would succeed in his reelection. He diagnosed, "It will be a very tough fight. President Trump faces three obstacles: voter fraud, internet censorship which I have recently experienced, and false reporting led by mainstream media owned by corporations."

He added, "Because of all these, it will be a very difficult race," but when asked "How can you be so sure of winning the election?" he said, "I know elections better than anyone," citing his campaign experience going back to the 1968 presidential election when former President Nixon was elected, and retorted, "Do you know anyone with more presidential campaign experience than me?"

Stone revealed that he was not confident about the commutation until President Trump called him on the evening of the 10th, repeatedly expressing his gratitude toward Trump. He claimed, "I prayed fervently. I believed everything was in God's hands and that God would answer. God answered."

Stone also mentioned plans to publish a memoir, saying, "I intend to write a book about this entire ordeal to completely silence the baseless 'Russia collusion' allegations."