Roger Stone on Trump Tower Meeting: 'I probably would not have taken that meeting'

(FOX 11) - Roger Stone, a veteran political consultant and long-time Trump supporter, is weighing in on that controversial Trump Tower meeting in 2016 between the Trump campaign and Russians promising "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.

"I probably would not have taken that meeting but there's nothing illegal about that meeting, per se," Stone told "Good Day L.A." co-host Elex Michaelson in a live interview on FOX 11 Los Angeles

Then-candidate Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his son Donald Trump Jr., and his son-in-law Jared Kushner took that meeting inside Trump Tower in June 9, 2016. It is now being examined by Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, in his probe of potential between the Trump campaign and Russia.

That meeting was organized by Trump Jr. and Rod Goldstone, the publicist of a prominent Russian pop star. In an email, Goldstone promised Trump Jr., "some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

President Trump has claimed that he did not know about the meeting at the time and that the Russians did not deliver that incriminating information, instead opting to discuss Russian adoptions.

The President's personal attorney, Rudy Guiliani, defended the meeting during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press this weekend.

"Well, because the meeting was originally for the purpose of getting information about, about Clinton…That was the original intention of the meeting. It turned out to be a meeting about another subject and it was not pursued at all. And, of course, any meeting with regards to getting information on your opponent is something any candidate's staff would take. If someone said, 'I have information about your opponent,' you would take that meeting."

Stone, a veteran of decades of campaigns, disagreed.

"I would not do so, generally speaking," he told FOX 11.

For years, Stone was a business partner of Paul Manafort. Now Manafort is facing criminal charges for bank fraud and tax fraud.

Stone said it is not clear what will happen to his old friend. "I have no way of knowing, I wasn't in the courtroom, nor did I follow every word of the trial."

Many in the media have speculated that Mueller could move to indict Stone next.

"We all know federal prosecutors' ability in front of a flawed grand jury process to indict the proverbial ham sandwich. I'm not interested in being Mr. Mueller's lunch."

Stone continued, "Having come up empty handed of any evidence whatsoever of Russian collusion or Wikileaks collaboration or any other illegal activity pertaining to the 2016 election, it's certainly possible the Special Counsel will try to come up with some bogus offense to try and silence me as a critic of this probe and pressure me to testify against the President."

Stone said he won't testify against Trump, a friend for decades.

"I would not rule out cooperating with the Special Counsel but there's no scenario where I would testify against the President. I have no knowledge of wrongdoing by the President."

Stone completely backs the President's decision to strip former C.I.A. Director John Brennan of his security clearance. Brennan is a long-time critic of the President.

"John Brennan is the chief perp in the largest political scandal in political history. We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Justice Department under Barack Obama and the F.B.I. used a document fabricated with the assistance of Russian intelligence to justify the illegal and unconstitutional surveillance of members of the Trump campaign," Stone said.