Melissa Joskow / Media Matters

While a jury deliberated over his fate, Roger Stone -- a confidant of President Donald Trump and longtime GOP operative who is facing felony charges that he lied to Congress -- purportedly sent a message through far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones asking Trump to pardon him if he is convicted.

Stone is being tried in federal court in Washington, D.C., and faces seven charges that he lied to Congress about his dealings with WikiLeaks concerning emails hacked by Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; obstructed an official proceeding; and intimidated a witness, radio host Randy Credico. In making their case, prosecutors have argued that Stone lied to Congress because the truth “would look really bad” for Trump. During the trial, former Trump campaign official Rick Gates testified that Stone had told Trump about a forthcoming release of material from WikiLeaks, contradicting a written answer Trump gave special counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into 2016 election interference.

As the jury deliberated on November 14, Jones purported to share a message from Stone himself during the broadcast of Infowars’ The Alex Jones Show. Jones said, “Roger Stone’s message is this: He expects to be convicted. He said only a miracle can save him now. … He said to me, ‘Alex, barring a miracle, I appeal to God and I appeal to your listeners for prayer, and I appeal to the president to pardon me because to do so would be an action that would show these corrupt courts that they’re not going to get away with persecuting people for their free speech or for the crime of getting the president elected.’”