Fury as Trump ally spared jail
Donald Trump faced widespread criticism yesterday after sparing former adviser Roger Stone from prison.
Stone was sentenced in February for lying to Congress, witness-tampering, and obstructing an investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.
The 67-year-old was due to start a 40-month jail sentence on Tuesday.
But his sentence has been commuted by the US president, which means his conviction is not erased but he is protected from going to prison.
The White House said: “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.”
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a former presidential frontrunner, said: “Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history.”
House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff said: “With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America – one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else.”
Stone has claimed going to prison would be a death sentence for him.