Roger Stone was sentenced to more than three years in prison on Thursday after days of drama ensnaring career prosecutors, the attorney general and the president over how severe Stone’s punishment should be for making false statements to investigators during the Trump-Russia probe, reported Fox News.
House Intelligence Chairman, Adam Schiff (D-CA), took to Twitter Thursday by immediately attacking the President after U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson made her decision.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the up to nine years originally sought by federal prosecutors was excessive but stated that, “Mr. Stone lied,” and Stone injected himself “smack” into a political controversy and was not “persecuted.”
Stone was convicted in November on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He was not charged with any underlying crime of coordinating with Russia during the election though Mueller’s team investigated Stone over tweets claiming to be in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as per Fox News.
Rep. Adam Schiff responded by alleging that Roger Stone had lied to “cover-up” for President Trump, though Schiff didn’t say exactly what the cover-up entailed. He then proceeded to vent his frustration over a possible pardon for Stone.
“Roger Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress and threatening a witness. He did it to cover up for Trump. His sentence is justified. It should go without saying, but to pardon Stone when his crimes were committed to protect Trump would be a breathtaking act of corruption,” Schiff claimed on Twitter. Continued Below
President Trump said at an event in Las Vegas on Thursday that he wants to see the process play out because he has a “very good chance of exoneration,” suggesting he would wait on a possible pardon decision until all Stone’s legal options are exhausted.
The president backed Stone as he seeks a new trial, calling the jury in the original trial “tainted” and saying he’ll eventually make a “determination.”
He added: “I’d love to see Roger exonerated, and I’d love to see it happen.” Video Below
During Stone’s sentencing hearing, President Trump had weighed in on Twitter, questioning the “fairness” of prosecuting Roger Stone.
“’They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.’ @CNN. OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?” the president tweeted.
Rep. Adam Schiff’s official tweet:
Roger Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress and threatening a witness.
He did it to cover up for Trump. His sentence is justified.
It should go without saying, but to pardon Stone when his crimes were committed to protect Trump would be a breathtaking act of corruption.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 20, 2020
Continued Below
President Donald Trump’s official tweet:
“They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.” @CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020
President Trump’s remarks on Roger Stone:
(Related: Lou Dobbs To Attorney General Barr: “Go After The Damn Bad Guys & Stand Up For The President”)
