Donald Trump’s former adviser Roger Stone has labeled an alleged recording of himself plotting the assassination of two Democratic members of Congress as an AI hoax after it was first released to the public.
The veteran lobbyist was accused of telling his security detail that Jerry Nadler or Eric Swalwell “needs to die” shortly before the 2020 presidential election.
The two members of the House Judiciary Committee at the time were planning an investigation into Trump’s decision to commute Stone’s 40-month prison sentence for obstruction, witness tampering and lying to Congress.
Stone demanded the alleged recording be released when Mediaite and its reporter Diana Falzone revealed its existence on Monday, and earlier today the news website did so.
“Basically AI created clickbait bull***t,” he tweeted in response. “Why would anyone believe Diana Falzone?”
Roger Stone, the former lobbyist and adviser to Donald Trump, has dismissed as “absurd” claims that he plotted the murder of two Democratic congressmen.
House Judiciary Committee members Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell planned to investigate Trump’s decision to commute Stone’s 40-month prison sentence for obstruction, witness tampering and lying to Congress
According to the website, the recording was made at Caffe Europa in Fort Lauderdale during a conversation between Stone and NYPD officer Sal Greco, who worked as his security detail.
In it, Stone allegedly told Greco “let’s go find Swalwell and get this over with.”
“It’s time to do it, then we’ll see how brave the rest are,” the voice continues.
“Either Swalwell or Nadler must die before the election. They have to understand the message. I just won’t tolerate this s*** anymore.’
Stone responded furiously to the story on Monday, labeling it “total nonsense” and “more AI manipulation.”
He demanded that the website release the tape and insisted that he had never discussed killing anyone.
“Fake Mediaite cannot produce the recording they claim to have,” he tweeted Thursday.
“Mediaite has NOT produced any audio of me threatening two Dem Congressmen. Where is it? Post it!’ he added.
Stone (right) was a longtime friend and advisor to Donald Trump. He first advised him to run for president in 1998, but officially left his campaign in August 2015.
The veteran lobbyist, seen here with former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush, has worked for Republican candidates since the early 1970s
The website then published a 19-second clip of the tape Friday morning containing the reported words, but admitted it was “lightly edited” to claim “to protect our source, who requested anonymity out of fear of repercussions from Stone.” which they believe are dangerous’.
Stone labeled the explanation “Bulls***!”
“Audio is ‘lightly edited’ because it’s fake AF, just like Mediaite and Diana Falzone,” he tweeted.
And he claimed to know the identity of the website’s source.
“An anonymous media source for AI-fabricated ‘Assassination’ audio has a criminal record for prostitution and drug trafficking,” he wrote.
Stone had worked on Republican presidential campaigns dating back to Richard Nixon’s in 1972, when he started working for his old friend Donald Trump in 2015.
He was involved in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and was sentenced to 40 months in November 2019.
Nadler reacted angrily after Trump announced in July 2020 that he would commute Stone’s sentence.
“A jury has found Roger Stone guilty,” he tweeted.
“By commuting his sentence, President Trump has infected our justice system with partisanship and cronyism and attacked the rule of law. @House Judiciary will aggressively investigate this blatant corruption.”
Trump ultimately gave Stone a full presidential pardon in December 2020, just days before leaving office.
Mediaite has not yet responded to claims that the tape is an AI hoax, but it pointed to Stone’s previous alleged calls for violence, as reported in the 2023 documentary A Storm Foretold.
In one clip, Stone was recorded following a rally for Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), the day before the election.
Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison in November 2019 for obstruction, witness tampering and lying to Congress about his evidence for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
‘F*** the mood, let’s get straight to the violence. Shoot to kill, see an antifa, shoot to kill.”
Mediaite made no mention of his immediate follow-up comment: “I’m just kidding, of course. We completely renounce violence. We completely reject violence. The left are the only ones guilty of violence.’
Greco has not denied the comments but has downplayed their significance, telling Mediaite: “I don’t think your reader is interested in age-old political fodder.”
Greco was fired by the NYPD in August 2022 due to his association with Stone.