Roger Stone Says He Laughed in Russian’s Face

Political operative Roger Stone on Monday described his meeting with a Russian during the 2016 presidential election campaign as surreal.

The meeting, previously undisclosed to congressional investigators, reportedly has become the focus of independent counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the presidential campaign.

Stone (pictured above) said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that the man, Henry Greenberg, showed up at their meeting at a south Florida café in May 2016 wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt and a “Make America Great Again” hat. Stone said Greenberg showed him several pictures of himself at Trump rallies.

“This was a 20-minute meeting,” he said. “It was so ridiculous … I was uncertain of his ethnicity. He had an Eastern European accent. His name was Greenberg. For all I know, I was going to meet an Orthodox Jew.”

Stone said the meeting was so inconsequential that he simply forgot about it. He said he never told Trump because there was nothing to report. He said his attorney has contacted the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to update his testimony.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that Greenberg offered Stone documents from the Clinton Foundation that could be damaging to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. But Stone said Greenberg did not specify what kind of information he had.

The important point, Stone said, is that he turned Greenberg down.

“Nothing changed hands — no money, no information,” he said. “I flatly rejected his offer.”

Stone said Greenberg never told Michael Caputo, another Trump campaign adviser who had set up the meeting, that he wanted money in exchange for the information. Stone said it would have been “malpractice” not to explore Greenberg’s offer. But he said he never pays for information.

“As soon as he told me he wanted $2 million, I laughed in his face,” he said. “I don’t have $2 million, and even if I had it, I wouldn’t spend it on opposition research.”

Related: Rudy Says Roger Stone Russian Meeting No Big Deal

Stone said Greenberg told him it was Trump’s money that he wanted. Stone has accused Greenberg of working as an FBI informant against the campaign.

“It was an attempt to compromise Trump through me, given our 40-year friendship … This is what you call a setup,” he said.

Stone said he wants to know how Mueller knows about the meeting. He said he suspects it is the result of a warrant issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). He said he plans to sue the government for an invasion of his privacy.

“How is it that Mueller has that information if he hasn’t levied an illegal, unconstitutional FISA warrant on me?” he said.

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.