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Who is Roger Stone?

Roger J. Stone Jr., an advisor for President Donald J. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, signs a copy of his book, "The Making of the President 2016: How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution", for Stanley Tate of Miami, right, during an event hosted by the conservative group America First inside the Marriott in Boca Raton, Fla., on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Stone was the feature speaker who defended himself over contacts he had with Russia-linked hackers during the 2016 election.
Roger J. Stone Jr., an advisor for President Donald J. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, signs a copy of his book, "The Making of the President 2016: How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution", for Stanley Tate of Miami, right, during an event hosted by the conservative group America First inside the Marriott in Boca Raton, Fla., on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Stone was the feature speaker who defended himself over contacts he had with Russia-linked hackers during the 2016 election. Michael Ares AP

The incidental mentioning that Roger Stone’s Twitter account was closed down does not pay proper attention to who this man is and why his suspension from Twitter is a big deal. Why is he noteworthy? Who is this guy?

Roger Stone has proudly been a GOP “dirty trickster” since the days of Richard Nixon and Watergate. When he was a college student he was president of the student Republicans, caught the attention of the party who elevated him to participate in planning the break-in. Obscure but he was part of it.

Look up the Roger Stone’s Rules to learn such gems as “Attack, attack, attack, never defend.” Or there’s the other jewel “Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack.” Sound familiar to today’s White House?

Roger Stone selected Donald Trump to run for president in the late 1980s.

Roger Stone is a very dangerous man because of his shadow power. His recent expletive and threatening tirade to news anchors is a slip for a man who has been out of the spotlight pulling dirty tricks since the 1970s.

Hanging chads in Florida. Roger Stone. Lock Her Up, same guy.

Trump’s top adviser. Yup.

Gary J. Freiberg, Los Osos

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Who is Roger Stone?."

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