Legendary Nixon-tattooed political operative Roger Stone, who advised Donald Trump’s 2000 presidential exploration but isn’t consulting for Trump these days, offers his insights on the possibility of a Trump 2012 run on his Stone Zone site.

“Trump is serious this time based on his reaching out to examine public policy issues,” Stone says.

On the other hand, Stone notes, part-time Palm Beacher Trump “already has a bigger plane and a nicer house than the President of the United States.”

Legendary Republican operative and Nixon acolyte Roger Stone, who was partners with politically connected attorney Scott Rothstein in a Fort Lauderdale-based consulting firm, says he was shocked to hear that Rothstein is accused of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar investment scheme.

“I’m as surprised as anyone else. I still don’t have much information,” Stone said Monday.

Stone and Rothstein formed a consulting biz called RRA Consulting that operated out of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law offices. Though it’s still listed in state records as an active business, Stone said the partnership dissolved a few months ago. Stone, who lives in Miami, said he still rents office space from the law firm and visits about once a month.

Rothstein has been a major Republican money-raiser, bundling big bucks for John McCain’s presidential bid and Gov. Charlie Crist’s 2010 U.S. Senate campaign and contributing about $500,000 to the state GOP either personally or through the law firm.

So it was considered a major coup for Democratic governor hopeful Alex Sink to win Rothstein’s backing this year. Rothstein hosted an Aug. 27 fund-raiser for Sink and had the law firm write a $200,000 check to the Florida Democratic Party in September.

Said Stone: “This would have to be a considerable blow to Alex Sink and the Florida Democrats. He was a major get for the Democrats…Their trophy Republican seems to be on the lam.”

The Republican scramble for the Palm Beach-Broward seat of Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, puts GOP heavyweights and business partners Scott Rothstein and Roger Stone in rival camps.

Attorney Rothstein – who’s raised money for the likes of Charlie Crist, John McCain and George W. Bush – is backing state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, in the Senate District 25 race.
Legendarily dapper bad boy and unabashed Nixon admirer Stone, a partner with Rothstein in a Fort Lauderdale-based consulting biz, is behind Delray Beach businessman Nick Loeb.

Stone said he’s friends with Bogdanoff but has an “antecedent” relationship with Loeb’s family, going back to the days when he and Loeb’s father were early Ronald Reagan supporters. Though he’s known as a creative hitman, Stone says that, in this race, “I’m not here to engage in negative politics.”

Bogdanoff, Loeb and state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, are in the GOP primary to replace Atwater, who’s running for chief financial officer