Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone is now asking the public for donations to help foot the bill for his legal defense fees in the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
"Friend, I'm facing a $500K price tag to clear my name of the Deep State's baseless charges!" Stone wrote in an email this week, according to USA Today. In the letter, Stone asked supporters to donate anywhere from $25 to "even $100 or more immediately."
Stone said the "legal assault" that has been waged against him already racked up more than $100,000 in fees, USA Today reported. The authenticity of those numbers is not currently clear.
"But the Deep State Democrats who hate President Trump and need an excuse for the internal failures and disastrous results of Hillary's campaign keep coming after us," Stone wrote. "The President and I are under assault!"
Stone has not been charged with any crimes or accused of any crimes to this point. However, he has testified before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door session that lasted three hours. Stone, at the time, claimed his grilling had been "professional."
"I expressed my view that I’m aware of no evidence whatsoever of collusion by the Russian state or anyone in the Trump campaign or anyone associated with Donald Trump," Stone said at the time, according to Politico.
But just days before special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation indicted former Trump campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and his business associate, Rick Gates, Stone went on an unhinged Twitter rant directed primarily at CNN's Don Lemon, and other media figures.
The rant resulted in Stone being banned from Twitter indefinitely, to which he responded with threats of legal action — a bit strange for a man who has asked the public for cash.
Stone did not return an email inquiry for further comment at the time of publication.
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