Stone gets 40-month term
Stunning downfall caps Justice Dept. tumult
Roger Stone, the 67-year-old convicted friend of President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday. Stone had been found guilty in November of repeatedly lying to the House Intelligence Committee.
– Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 40 months in prison.
Though less than what prosecutors originally asked for, the sentence marks a stunning downfall for the longtime political consultant who has advised presidential campaigns stretching back to Richard Nixon. The 67-year-old was found guilty in November of repeatedly lying to the House Intelligence Committee and obstructing its investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Stone “took it upon himself to lie, to impede, to obstruct before the investigation was complete, in an endeavor to influence the result.”
She continued: “The truth still exists, the truth still matters. Roger Stone insisted that it doesn’t.” Stone stood expressionless next to his three defense attorneys.
Jackson also sentenced Stone to two years of probation and ordered him to pay $20,000 in fines.
Stone smiled briefly as he exited the courtroom.
The sentence will not take effect until Jackson rules on a pending motion for a new trial. Stone’s attorneys made the request last week after Trump accused one of the jurors of “significant bias.”
The sentence, which Jackson announced before a packed courtroom, comes after a tumultuous 10 days for the Justice Department. Four career prosecutors withdrew from Stone’s case last week after the Justice Department overruled their recommendation that he serve seven to nine years in prison. One resigned.
The intervention from the agency’s leadership came hours after Trump criticized their recommended sentence, raising concerns among prosecutors, former prosecutors and judges about the appearance of political interference in the Justice Department. More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials have called for Attorney General William Barr to resign.
Prior to announcing her sentence, Jackson rebuked Stone’s conduct, sayWASHINGTON ing he was “proud to act with impunity outside the law.” She defended the “integrity” of the investigation, in an apparent nod to Trump’s repeated criticism.
“There was nothing unfair about the investigation and the prosecution,” Jackson said, adding that Stone was not prosecuted because of his politics. “He was prosecuted for covering up for the president.”
Stone’s sentence raises the possibility of a pardon from Trump.
Trump signaled Thursday that a pardon is not imminent. “I’m going to let this process play out,” Trump told a prisoner graduation ceremony in Las Vegas.
“Roger Stone and everybody has to be treated fairly,” Trump said. “And this has not been a fair process.”