Twitter Bans Trump Adviser After Obscene Rants Against CNN
Twitter suspended the account of longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone today following a series of obscene tweets aimed at CNN anchors and commentators that began Friday night.
CNN’s exclusive report, later confirmed by other media sources, that FBI special counsel Robert Mueller had secured a sealed indictment in the investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 U. S. elections appears to be the cause for Stone’s tweet storm.
In a text message to Fox News, Stone insists the ban will not be permanent.
“I have been informed I have been suspended for 3 hours and 12 minutes. While I am uncertain why, sometimes the stark truth offends people.”
Those Stone targeted included CNN anchors Don Lemon, Jake Tapper, and Ana Navarro as well as political analysts Carl Bernstein, Bill Kristol, and Charles Blow.
The tweets included apparently homophobic and sexist remarks about Lemon and Navarro and a criticism of Kristol’s appearance.
Stone continued to fight one of his longest-running battles in his attack on famed former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein, whose series of scoops with Bob Woodward following the 1972 Watergate break-in is widely credited with helping to launch the investigations that ultimately led to the August 9, 1974, resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.
“If Carl Bernstein says something, the overwhelming odds are that it’s false. (He) lied about Watergate. (He’s) lying right now.”
Stone’s grudge against Bernstein dates back to his days as a minor player in the Watergate scandals. Stone’s role in Nixon’s “dirty tricks” campaigns against two of his political opponents, Rep. Pete McCloskey, R-California, in the 1972 Republican primaries and Sen. George McGovern, D-South Dakota, in the general election, were revealed during congressional committee hearings in 1973.
Stone, who was 19 when he began his work for the Nixon campaign, took the fake name of “Jason Rainier” and made cash contributions to the Young Socialist Alliance in McCloskey’s name in an effort to paint McCloskey as a communist. Stone became “Sedan Chair II” when he worked his way into the McGovern campaign. When his actions were revealed, Stone lost his job as an aide to Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kansas.
Stone, who has a tattoo of Nixon on his back, has continued to proclaim the former president’s innocence in the 43 years since Nixon’s resignation and has recently told interviewers that he feels Trump’s opponents are trying to railroad him out of office using the same playbook that ended Nixon’s political career.
[Featured Image by J. Scott Applewhite/AP Images]
