In an interview with Fox News this week, he characterized himself as collateral damage in the quest to target Mr. Trump.
“He is aware that the people trying to destroy Michael Flynn, now trying to destroy me, are the people trying to destroy him,” Mr. Stone said.
While it was not clear when the two last spoke before the decision, Mr. Trump called Mr. Stone on Friday to deliver the news of his clemency personally, according to an official briefed on the conversation.
But Mr. Stone is the first figure directly connected to the president’s campaign to benefit from his clemency power.
The debate over clemency for Mr. Stone has raged within the White House for months.
Within the White House, Mr. Stone had few allies.
Many Trump aides who knew him from the campaign did not like him, were envious of his long relationship with Mr. Trump or thought clemency would be bad politics. »