Trump commutes prison sentence of ally Roger Stone

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of Roger Stone, sentenced to more than three years in prison for witness tampering and lying to Congress, in a move that will keep his former campaign adviser from serving time behind bars.
The decision, announced in a White House press release, came after Trump had repeatedly criticised the judge, prosecutors, and even the jury involved in Stone’s trial as politically motivated.
“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,” Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in the release, which was issued as Trump was flying back from a trip to Florida.
The commutation means that while Stone’s conviction will stand and he will have a criminal record, he will not have to go to prison. But it allows him to proceed with his appeal of the conviction and gives Trump the option of granting a pardon later.
The decision had been widely expected in political circles and reaction from congressional Democrats was swift.
“President Trump has engaged in countless acts that are both self-serving and destructive to our democracy while in office, but commuting the sentence of Roger Stone, a crony who lied and obstructed our investigation to protect Trump himself, is among the most offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, one of the leaders of Trump’s impeachment, said in a statement.
Bill Russo, a spokesman for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, condemned the decision.
“President Trump has once again abused his power, releasing this commutation, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world,” Russo said.
Neither Stone nor his lawyer, Seth Ginsberg, immediately responded to phone calls and emails seeking comment.
The president had indicated that he had hoped to hold off from intervening in the case until Stone had exhausted his avenues of appeal — a strategy that might have allowed him to avoid the politically sensitive move until after November’s election. But Stone asked Trump to intervene sooner, citing fears that he could become sick from the coronavirus while serving his 40-month term. For the president, the commutation risks renewed attention on the assistance provided by Russia to bolster his 2016 campaign.