Political strategist Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison on Thursday afternoon. Stone was convicted of lying to Congress and threatening a witness. He was being investigated due to his ties to President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Stone was called to testify before Congress due to his connections between the Trump campaign and Wikileaks. He was seeking dirt on Hillary Clinton. Stone allegedly covered up his conversations between the two camps.
On top of lying to Congress, Stone was convicted for threatening and intimidating witnesses. He threatened trial witness Randy Credico via email. Stone also made threatening Tweets towards Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
The case against Stone made news days before the sentence came down. Attorney General Bill Barr directed prosecutors to lower their sentencing guidelines. In an unprecedented move, all of the prosecutors on the case quit and new ones had to be appointed. They had originally suggested a sentence of 7 to 9 years.
What made Barr’s decision dubious is the fact that President Trump had just previously stated that the sentencing guidelines were unfair. Many are now accusing the Justice Department of politicizing the case. Over 2,000 former prosecutors have signed a petition to have Bill Barr resign.
The Attorney General has even come out and stated that the president should not Tweet about Justice Department cases. Barr said it makes it impossible to do his job.
President Trump has said he thought Stone will be exonerated. Pundits believe the president will ultimately pardon Stone. The case has become one of the most politically charged in the country.
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