
Roger Stone, a political strategist and long-time ally of Trump, has been arrested in Florida, charged with seven counts in the Mueller probe – for obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness-tampering.
The charges are linked to an alleged Russian-led hack into the emails of Democratic Party officials and their subsequent release by WikiLeaks in the run up to the 2016 US election. According to BBC’s Anthony Zurcher, ‘The move marks a significant development in this nearly two-year legal drama. For the first time a member of Mr Trump’s inner circle, albeit an informal one, is facing charges directly related to Russian election meddling – the central thrust of the special counsel’s investigation.’
Born 27 August 1952 in Connecticut, Stone is a political lobbyist and consultant having worked for Nixon and Reagan and other Republicans; and is a long-time business associate of Paul Manafort. He is a self-confessed ‘dirty trickster’ and says his MO is ‘Attack, attack, attack—never defend” and “Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack.”
He has a Virgo Sun but his chart is dominated by a fearsome, controlling and opportunistic Fixed Grand Cross of Mars (Moon) in Scorpio opposition Jupiter in Taurus square Pluto opposition North Node in Aquarius – ultra-controlling, not given to social niceties, will cut corners to get what he wants, stubborn to the nth degree and vengeful.
He’s unlikely to roll over and play nice for the authorities and giving in is hardly his style. But for all that despite a bullish front from tr Pluto trine his Jupiter through 2019, he looks disheartened, untypically panicked and facing a run of disastrous setbacks this July and onwards into 2020.
His relationship chart with Trump isn’t as beneficial as their long connection would suggest with a mutually unsupportive composite Mars Neptune conjunction; though that is balanced by an expansive Sun Jupiter. It looks on high alert at the moment till mid-February with tr Uranus square the composite Sun; and stressed from tr Neptune in hard aspect to the composite Mars/Pluto; with some relief in April, but mounting concern in June and on.