Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone sued by US Justice Department

The US Department of Justice is suing Donald Trump ally Roger Stone for about $2 million in unpaid federal income tax.

The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges that Mr Stone and his wife, Nydia, used a company to “shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties”, Reuters reported.

Mr Stone said his tax bill had been public knowledge for years and called claims of a lavish lifestyle “laughable”.

“This is yet another example of the Democrats weaponising the Justice Department in violation of the rule of law. I will fight these politically motivated charges and I will prevail again,” he said.

Mr Stone, 68, is a colourful Republican political operative, known for his high-end wardrobe and tattoo on his back of former US president Richard Nixon.

When Mr Trump considered running for president in 2000, Mr Stone was an advisor. He also briefly worked on Mr Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Stone was indicted by Robert Mueller, the former special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Mr Mueller’s investigation, which Mr Trump called a “witch hunt”, led to criminal charges against dozens of people.

They included Trump associates Paul Manafort, the political strategist, and the former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Many former officials and supporters of Mr Trump benefited from the president’s use of executive clemency and were pardoned before he left office.

A federal jury in Washington convicted Mr Stone on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

At trial, prosecutors said Mr Stone told five different lies to legislators on the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence about his contacts with the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks.

Mr Trump granted Mr Stone a presidential pardon in December.

He had previously commuted Mr Stone’s sentence, allowing him to avoid a prison sentence.