Roger Stone restaurant assault claim disputed by D.C. police, Italian eatery RPM

The Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday it never received a complaint from Roger Stone about being accosted last week at a D.C.-area restaurant, and the restaurant’s manager says the embattled Trump associate embellished his encounter with other patrons.

Mr. Stone, facing a federal trial later this year on charges of lying to Congress, said in a fundraising email this week that he was “physically assaulted” at the restaurant and said police had to be called. He did not identify the restaurant in his plea, but The Washington Times discovered it was the posh Italian eatery RPM.

“Fortunately, an old friend I was dining with pulled him off me and the DC police were called,” Mr. Stone wrote in the fundraising email distributed to grassroots conservatives through ConservativeHQ.com

But a police spokeswoman said they have no record of an incident or responding to a call.

And Chams Azaiez, who identified himself as the manager of the K Street restaurant, also confirmed the police were not involved.

“The guy never touched Mr. Stone,” Mr. Azaiez told The Washington Times. “There was no need for the police to be involved because no one was touched.”

As Mr. Azaiez recounted events, a table of roughly five people spotted Mr. Stone when he entered and asked for a group picture with the longtime GOP operative.

Later, Mr. Stone tried to leave the restaurant, a dispute broke out.

One of the partygoers shouted at Mr. Stone and the two exchanged words, according to Mr. Azaiez. There was some yelling, but the incident never became physical, he said.

Mr. Azaiez said he asked everyone to leave.

“Roger Stone was leaving the restaurant and as he left, the guy saw him and yelled at him,” he said. “No one bothered him at his table and nobody touched anybody.”

Mr. Stone did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment, but he offered a different description of the encounter in his fundraising email.

“[V]irtually not a day goes by in which I don’t either receive a death threat or have an ugly altercation with some liberal who wants to curse at me, call me a traitor or take a swing at me,” Mr. Stone wrote.

“I can barely leave my home without a bodyguard for fear that some crazed leftist with Trump Derangement Syndrome will try to confront, injure or even try to kill,” the email continues.

Mr. Stone, a longtime associate of President Trump, was in town last Thursday for a scheduled court appearance ahead of his November trial.

In January, Mr. Stone pleaded not guilty to making false statements to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. The charges were brought by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Federal prosecutors say Mr. Stone lied about his contacts with WikiLeaks, which released a trove of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

In the fundraising plea, Mr. Stone said he’s strapped for cash.

“I am already under budget for the $2 million I must raise for a vigorous legal defense,” he wrote. “This two-year investigation and my legal costs have driven me to the brink of personal bankruptcy.”

ConservativeHQ, which Mr. Stone used to send the email, was founded by conservative icon and political direct mail pioneer Richard Viguerie. It described the Stone fundraising email as “a special message” from one of its advertisers.