Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced
By The New York Times. President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. on seven felony crimes on Friday, using the power of his office to spare a former campaign adviser days before Mr. Stone was to report to a federal prison to serve a 40-month term.
In a lengthy written statement punctuated by the sort of inflammatory language and angry grievances characteristic of the president’s Twitter feed, the White House denounced the “overzealous prosecutors” who convicted Mr. Stone on “process-based charges” stemming from the “witch hunts” and “Russia hoax” investigation. (Read more from “President Trump Commutes Roger Stone Sentence” HERE)
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White House’s Statement Regarding Stone Sentence Commutation
Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting the unjust sentence of Roger Stone, Jr.
Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency. There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist. As it became clear that these witch hunts would never bear fruit, the Special Counsel’s Office resorted to process-based charges leveled at high-profile people in an attempt to manufacture the false impression of criminality lurking below the surface. These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice.This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone. Roger Stone is well known for his nearly 50 years of work as a consultant for high-profile Republican politicians, including President Ronald Reagan, Senator Bob Dole, and many others. He is also well known for his outspoken support for President Donald J. Trump and opposition to Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Stone was charged by the same prosecutors from the Mueller Investigation tasked with finding evidence of collusion with Russia. Because no such evidence exists, however, they could not charge him for any collusion-related crime. Instead, they charged him for his conduct during their investigation. The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr. Stone would not be facing time in prison.
In addition to charging Mr. Stone with alleged crimes arising solely from their own improper investigation, the Mueller prosecutors also took pains to make a public and shameful spectacle of his arrest. Mr. Stone is a 67-year-old man, with numerous medical conditions, who had never been convicted of another crime. But rather than allow him to surrender himself, they used dozens of FBI agents with automatic weapons and tactical equipment, armored vehicles, and an amphibious unit to execute a pre-dawn raid of his home, where he was with his wife of many years. Notably, CNN cameras were present to broadcast these events live to the world, even though they swore they were not notified—it was just a coincidence that they were there together with the FBI early in the morning.
Not only was Mr. Stone charged by overzealous prosecutors pursing a case that never should have existed, and arrested in an operation that never should have been approved, but there were also serious questions about the jury in the case. The forewoman of his jury, for example, concealed the fact that she is a member of the so-called liberal “resistance” to the Trump Presidency. In now-deleted tweets, this activist-juror vividly and openly attacked President Trump and his supporters.
Mr. Stone would be put at serious medical risk in prison. He has appealed his conviction and is seeking a new trial. He maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system. Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts. The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so. At this time, however, and particularly in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial, the President has determined to commute his sentence. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!
(Editor’s note: the White House’s statement on the Stone sentence commutation was originally published HERE)
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Pelosi: Commuting Stone’s Sentence, ‘Appalling’ and ‘a Terrible Idea’
By Breitbart. Pelosi said, “I think it’s a terrible idea. Just look at this administration, the president and his henchmen, so many of his friends, advisers, campaign chairman, etc. are in jail. And for the president to be able to issue a pardon on the basis of a crime that the person committed assisting the president is ridiculous. And we have — there ought to be a law, and I’m recommending that we pass a law that presidents cannot issue a pardon if the crime that the person is in jail for is one that is caused by protecting the president, which this was. It’s appalling.” (Read more from “Pelosi: Commuting Stone’s Sentence, ‘Appalling’ and ‘a Terrible Idea’” HERE)
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Stone: The President May Have Saved My Life
By Carl Campanile. President Trump may well have just saved his life, an elated and relieved Roger Stone told The Post moments after learning his sentence was commuted — from Trump himself.
“I’m obviously very pleased,” Stone, 67, said shortly after Trump called his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home with the good news on Friday night. . .
“I told him I was grateful,” Stone told The Post of his chat with the president.
“He protected my health.”
Stone added, “He believes in justice. I felt pretty confident that if he heard the facts of my case, he would make the right decision. (Read more about reaction to commutation of Stone sentence HERE)
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Earlier Report: Trump Expected to Commute Roger Stone Sentence
By Fox News. President Trump is expected to announce that he will commute Roger Stone’s sentence, just days before the longtime political operative is slated to report to prison to serve more than three years for charges stemming from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Fox News has learned.
Sources told Fox News Friday that the president could announce a commutation of Stone’s sentence as early as Friday evening.
The president, as recently as Friday morning, has said he was “looking at” offering Stone clemency, saying he was “very unfairly treated.”
Stone was set to report to prison on July 14 to serve 40 months. He was sentenced in February to more than three years in prison after being convicted in November 2019 on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from Mueller’s investigation. Stone, however, has appealed his conviction and continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Trump, for weeks, has signaled he could be open to granting Stone clemency — tweeting last month that Stone was “a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!” (Read more from “Report: Trump Expected to Commute Roger Stone Sentence” HERE)
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