Roger Stone hired by native tribe to help seize San Francisco’s Presidio

Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Trump, has waded into the high-stakes fight over control of San Francisco’s Presidio after the White House purged Democratic appointees tasked with overseeing the national park with picturesque views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

New filings show Stone — whose prison sentence was commuted by Trump in 2020 — received a $30,000 lobbying contract from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay, a controversial group that has pushed to take over management of the historic national park.

The dealings were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Federal lobbying disclosures show the tribe paid Stone’s firm, Drake Ventures LLC, $30,000 in the first quarter of 2026 and $20,000 late last year. But the Presidio fight is only a small slice of Stone’s lobbying portfolio.

Stone pulled in $1.19 million in lobbying fees in the first three months of 2026, representing clients spanning energy, infrastructure, mining and tribal interests, according to federal filings.

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The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe has been pushing for federal recognition for 45 years and a greater role in managing the park, which formerly operated as an Army base. The tribe has called on Trump to “rematriate the Presidio” back into indigenous control.

“This opportunity to return the Presidio to the stewardship of the Muwekma is historic — a unique chance for you and your administration to acknowledge injustices faced by Native Americans,” tribe officials reportedly wrote last March in a letter to Trump and Doug Burgum, secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Bringing Stone aboard as a lobbyist may help the tribe, as the Trump loyalist avoided a prison sentence after Trump stepped in and commuted his 40-month sentence. This spring, Stone’s close relationship with the president reportedly helped save the job of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

The move sparked a fierce backlash from Democrats, with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, pushing for legislation to curb presidential pardon powers and block future clemency for allies accused of protecting a president from prosecution. 

She has frequently sparred with Trump over the last decade and called the Stone commutation “an act of staggering corruption.”

Stone and tribal officials did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment. 

Earlier this month, Trump fired all six members of the Presidio Trust board, removing the Biden-appointed leadership overseeing San Francisco’s 1,500-acre national park.

In a 2025 executive order, Trump called for the Presidio Trust to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” grouping it with other entities he accused of “waste and abuse.”

The trust pushed back in a detailed response, noting the Presidio has operated without federal appropriations since 2013, funding itself through commercial leases, housing rentals and private donations.

The park generated a record $182 million in operating revenue and has produced more than $350 million in net income since becoming financially independent, according to the agency.

Pelosi called the firings “disappointing” but said the Presidio would remain protected under federal law.