Capitol Police Investigating Roger Stone Remarks About Assassinating Members of Congress
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
The Capitol Police are investigating remarks made by pro-Trump political operative Roger Stone discussing the assassination of two prominent House Democrats. A source told Mediaite the FBI is aiding with the investigation.
Last week, Mediaite published an audio recording of the comments, which were made weeks before the 2020 election in a conversation between Stone and his associate, former NYPD cop Sal Greco, about Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
“It’s time to do it,” Stone told Greco. “Let’s go find Swalwell. It’s time to do it. Then we’ll see how brave the rest of them are. It’s time to do it. It’s either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election. They need to get the message. Let’s go find Swalwell and get this over with. I’m just not putting up with this shit anymore.”
In a new statement to Mediaite, Swalwell said the comments should be taken seriously by both law enforcement and Congress:
The Roger Stone assassination plot recording may seem like the ravings of a wannabe gangster. It’s not. This is what Trump and his real-life thugs do: they try to intimidate opponents and will always choose violence over voting. Because I’m one of Trump’s loudest critics, Stone put a hit out on me. This threat, and other threats of violence by Trump and his supporters, must be taken seriously by not only law enforcement but also by my colleagues. Both parties, not just Democrats, must condemn this violence. Unity will always be the best antidote against further violence.
Finally, Stone said that I and Trump’s enemies need to ‘get the message.’ Well, I and the voters have a message for Stone and Trump: we are still here and we are not going away until we bury MAGAism and make sure America’s democracy endures.
The FBI, which does not confirm or deny ongoing investigations, declined to comment when reached by Mediaite. The United States Capitol Police did not offer a comment.
Both Swalwell and Nadler serve on the House Judiciary Committee and have their own histories with Stone, who was convicted of federal crimes in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. His sentence was commuted by then-President Trump days before he was set to report to prison.
A few months before the Caffe Europa audio was recorded, Nadler announced the Judiciary Committee would be investigating why Stone’s sentence was commuted by Trump.
Stone has adamantly denied making the comments — even after the audio was published by Mediaite. The infamous political operative claimed the audio was “poorly fabricated AI generated fraud all because I am loyal to [Trump]”.
Stone has previously claimed that comments he made apparently calling for violence that were caught on video by a documentary crew were “deep fakes.”
Greco, who was fired by the NYPD in 2022 over his association with Stone, did not deny the conversation in a statement to Mediaite, saying, “I don’t think your reader is interested in ancient political fodder.”
Mediaite also reported on a conversation between Stone and Greco in which Stone called to “abduct” and “punish” Aaron Zelinsky, the prosecutor who led the case against him as part of the Mueller probe.
