Republished February 12, 2019 - 4:25 PM
Original Publication Date February 12, 2019 - 1:01 PM
WASHINGTON - Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich is doing his bit to help raise money for the legal defence of Roger Stone, a confidant of Donald Trump caught up in the Russia probe.
Gingrich has made his email distribution list available to Stone's wife, who sent a lengthy email Tuesday requesting contributions.
Nydia Stone said she and her husband were roused by the FBI at their Florida home in a "terrifying pre-dawn" raid. She said her husband is facing "fabricated" charges aimed at getting him to turn on Trump, and said she and her husband are seeking donations for what she says could be a $2 million defence.
Stone has pleaded not guilty in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation to charges including making false statements and obstructing a congressional probe into potential co-ordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Nydia Stone echoed a line from her husband in saying that he "refuses to make up stories about the president or bear false witness against him."
A Gingrich aide says Gingrich regularly rents his Virginia-based company's email list to people or causes as long as they're not "totally off brand." The aide says Stone's email was approved after Gingrich's team determined the message was largely in line with Gingrich's criticism of Mueller's investigation.
The aide noted that the email clearly stated that it was from a sponsor, not Gingrich directly. The email list goes to around 250,000 people.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019