Former Trump adviser Roger Stone is demanding to be called to testify in front of the House Intelligence Committee so that he can “spank [Democrats] like children” for accusing him of colluding with the Russian government during the presidential campaign.
Stone, a longtime political operative who advised Trump informally for much of the campaign, laid out his grievances against Democrats in an open letter sent to reporters.
In the letter, Stone rebutted reports that he colluded with hackers working for the Russian government to release Democrats’ emails during the presidential campaign.
“I am anxious to rebut allegations that I had any improper or nefarious contact with any agent of the Russia State based on facts, not misleading and salacious headlines,” wrote Stone, a former business partner with Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Kellyanne Conway and Paul Manafort (Getty Images)
“Claims of Russian influence or collusion in the Trump Campaign by the Intelligence Community are backed up by ZERO evidence.”
Stone, Manafort and several other former Trump advisers are said to be under investigation for potential collusion with the Kremlin. FBI director James Clapper confirmed the existence of an investigation during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Monday. Though Comey did not name any individuals being investigation, Stone’s name was brought up numerous times by Democrats in the hearing.
California Rep. Adam Schiff quizzed Comey about Stone, who has commented in the past about having foreknowledge about WikiLeaks’ release of Hillary Clinton campaign emails.
Stone asserted that Schiff “slimed” him in the hearing but that the Democrat “seems to be backing away from a confrontation.”
“I demand the right to face my accusers. I will deconstruct their lies and spank them like children,” Stone wrote.
He then referred to Schiff using a derogatory word to describe the female anatomy and accused him and his fellow Democrats of “engaging in demagoguery, red-baiting, fear mongering half truths and innuendo.”
Democrats’ allegations against Stone stem from his activities on Twitter. In August, he wrote “Trust me, it will soon the [Clinton campaign chairman John] Podesta’s time in the barrel.”
In October, days before WikiLeaks released Podesta’s hacked emails, Stone wrote “@HillaryClinton is done. #WikiLeaks.”
Podesta said after his emails were released that he believed Stone had advanced knowledge of the WikiLeaks dump.
Stone denied knowing what WikiLeaks would release, but did acknowledge that he has communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through an intermediary.
“I’ve admitted I’ve been in communications with Assange through an intermediary, they don’t tell me what they’re going to release. My comments have been about the gravity about what they are releasing and the accuracy,” Stone told The Daily Caller’s Alex Pfeiffer in an exclusive interview in October. (RELATED: Roger Stone Responds To Podesta’s ‘Vile Smear’ That He Is In Cahoots With WikiLeaks)
Stone also corresponded on Twitter with Guccifer 2.0, a hacker who U.S. intelligence agencies believe is working for the Russian government.
The website The Smoking Gun released several private messages Stone exchanged with Guccifer 2.0 in August. But Stone says that there was no collusion discussed, and that his exchanges with the hacker were “benign” and “banal.”
“Not exactly 007 stuff, completely innocuous.”
Stone also claimed that he was not aware at the time of his correspondence with Guccifer 2.0 that he was a Russian government agent. While there were many rumblings at that time that Guccifer 2.0 was working for the Russian government, U.S. intelligence officials did not definitively determine that was the case until December.
“Neither the President or I have anything to fear from a full and fair investigation of these bogus charges of Russian collusion,” Stone added in his letter.