Prosecutors quit as Trump ‘interferes with justice’

DONALD TRUMP praised William Barr, his attorney general, for recommending a more lenient sentence for his former adviser Roger Stone yesterday, just hours after the move prompted all the prosecutors in the case to resign.

The US president said: “Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought”.

On Tuesday, the US Justice Department,

headed by Mr Barr, made the highly unusual decision to overrule its own prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation in the case and request a lighter sentence for Stone.

Stone was convicted of seven crimes including obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering, in November. Prosecutors recommended that the Republican operative face seven to nine years in prison, within the federal guidelines for his crimes.

But hours after Mr Trump shared his displeasure at the recommended sentence on Twitter, the Justice Department intervened to issue a new court filing saying the proposed sentence was “excessive and unwarranted”.

The suggestion drove all four career prosecutors in the case to quit, and one to leave the government entirely.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democratic senator, called for an internal watchdog to investigate the department’s involvement, saying the event had the hallmarks of “improper political interference in a criminal prosecution”.

Stone will be sentenced on Feb 20.