"Get Me Roger Stone" directors talk Trump and Stone connection
A new documentary traces the career of self-styled "political provocateur" and ally to President Donald Trump Roger Stone, and the film's directors -- Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme -- told CBSN that the White House's efforts to create distance between Stone and the president strikes them as disingenuous.
DiMauro and Pehme stopped by CBSN Friday to discuss their new Netflix documentary, "Get Me Roger Stone," which explores how Mr. Trump's longtime friend helped shape his political rise.
"Everybody in politics engages in dirty tricks and does sleazy things, but they try to paper over their misdeeds," Pehme said. "Not Roger. He is only too happy to be the mustache-twirling villain."
"He met Donald Trump through their shared mentor, Roy Cohn," DiMauro explained. "Roger knew all the way from the early '80s that he identified Trump as a viable presidential candidate."
As Stone's name has come up in stories about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the White House has appeared to try to distance itself from Stone, with Mr. Trump himself tweeting, "Have not spoken to Roger in a long time."
But the filmmakers insist that such an assertion seems off the mark, especially considering Stone's much-publicized visit to Trump Tower in December.
"It's important to remember that Roger was literally the first person to put the idea into Trump's head to run for the presidency back in 1987," Pehme said. "He's been his closest political advisor for 30 years, so separating them is a complete falsehood perpetrated by the White House."
