Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Bloomberg DOJ to Propose Shorter Stone Sentence as Prosecutor Resigns







(Bloomberg) -- The Justice Department will reverse course and propose a shorter prison sentence for Roger Stone after he was convicted of lying to Congress and other crimes to protect President Donald Trump, according to a Justice Department official.
Roger Stone sits in a vehicle while leaving federal court Washington, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Stone, longtime friend of President Donald Trump, has been found guilty at his trial in federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)© ASSOCIATED PRESS Roger Stone sits in a vehicle while leaving federal court Washington, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Stone, longtime friend of President Donald Trump, has been found guilty at his trial in federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Just one day after recommending Stone face as long nine years in prison, the Justice Department’s senior leadership now believes that the initial recommendation was too harsh and wasn’t proportional to his crimes, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because the announcement hasn’t been officially made.
Hours afters news reports about the Justice Department’s impending move, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Zelinsky, one of the prosecutors who tried Stone, indicated that he was withdrawing from the case and resigning from his position. It’s unclear whether he is leaving the Justice Department altogether.
The new recommendation hasn’t been finalized, the official said, but the reversal raises questions about whether Justice Department officials are under White House pressure to ease off the president’s former associate. Trump called the original sentencing recommendation in a tweet Monday night “horrible” and “very unfair.”
“The idea of our president interfering with the criminal justice system in such a way is extraordinary and frightening,” said Sharon McCarthy, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor now in private practice. “If I were the prosecutor on that case I would submit my resignation.”
Bruce Rogow, Stone’s lawyer, declined to comment on a possible sentencing change.
The government said in its memorandum on Monday that Stone merited a tougher sentence because after he was indicted he posted an image of the judge overseeing the case with crosshairs next to her head. He also violated a court order by repeatedly posting about the case on social media.
In addition, prosecutors argued that Stone used threats of violence to keep a possible intermediary with WikiLeaks silent, telling comedian and talk show host Randy Credico in writing to “Prepare to die,” prosecutors said.
Trump -- who viewed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, which tripped up Stone, as a “witch hunt” -- hinted that he might pardon Stone or commute his sentence. “Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” he tweeted.
Stone, 67, a longtime Republican operative, argues he’s already been punished by his public trial and loss of professional standing. His age, health, and status as a first-time offender convicted of a non-violent crime don’t warrant a prison sentence, he said in a court filing Monday. He asked for probation.
Stone is due to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington on Feb. 20.
To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Strohm in Washington at cstrohm1@bloomberg.net;Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Kevin Whitelaw
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