CNN aired exclusive footage on Don Lemon Tonight, Monday, of longtime Republican operative and confidante to former President Donald Trump, Roger Stone, laying out the strategy to invalidate the 2020 election if Trump were to lose. The video was reportedly taken by Stone’s assistant on July 9, 2020, one day before Trump commuted Stone’s prison sentence for lying to Congress. The clip was provided by Danish filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen, who followed Stone off and on for three years while making his documentary, A Storm Foretold.
“What they’re assuming is that the election will be normal,” Stone said. “The election will not be normal. ‘Oh, these are the California results? Sorry, we’re not accepting them. We’re challenging them in court. If the electors show up at the electoral college, armed guards will throw them out. I’m the president. F*** you.’”
Though Republicans would go on to put forth a slate of fraudulent electors from several states in a failed attempt to steal the 2020 election, in the video, Stone accused Democrats of scheming to commit election fraud.
“If they want to run a bunch of fake ballots, we’ll have an investigation,” Stone said. “We’ll say, ‘These ballots are fake. Your results are invalidated. Goodbye.’ That’s the way it’s gonna have to work. It’s gonna be really nasty. But you cannot count on — we’re not gonna get an honest election.”
GOP legislatures around the country in states President Biden won actually did investigate the election as Stone said they would, but the investigations did not find any widespread fraud.
Stone, who, according to another video released by Guldbrandsen, would’ve preferred the country skip voting altogether and for it to be enveloped by violence, said at the time that the presidency would be won in the courts. The Trump campaign would go on to attempt exactly that, only to lose dozens of cases, and never proving election fraud.
“Even if he wins an honest election, we’re not gonna have an honest election. They’re gonna steal — they’re stealing us blind in Florida right now,” Stone said. “So, you know, it’s not the first time it’s happened in this country, and it happens around the world. So he’s gonna have to fight for the presidency in the courts. Our next election will be decided in the courts.”
Stone released a statement challenging the accuracy and authenticity of the videos.
Don Lemon Tonight airs weeknights at 10 p.m. on CNN.
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