Tag: Roger Stone

Prosecutors quit amid escalating Justice Dept. fight over Roger Stone’s prison term

Washington Post logoAll four career prosecutors handling the case against Roger Stone withdrew from the legal proceedings Tuesday — and one quit his job entirely — after the Justice Department signaled it planned to undercut their sentencing recommendation for President Trump’s longtime friend and confidant.

The sudden and dramatic moves came after prosecutors and their superiors had argued for days over the appropriate penalty for Stone, and exposed what some career Justice Department employees say is a continuing pattern of the historically independent law enforcement institution being bent to Trump’s political will.

Almost simultaneously, Trump decided to revoke the nomination to a top Treasury Department post of his former U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, who had supervised the Stone case when it went to trial. Continue reading.

DOJ asks judge to sentence Roger Stone to 7-9 years in prison

The Hill logoThe Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended on Monday that former Trump aide Roger Stone serve a prison sentence of between 7 and 9 years for lying to Congress and witness tampering.

In a court filing to a federal district judge in Washington ahead of Stone’s Feb. 20 sentencing, the department said the longtime Trump associate should be punished in accordance with sentencing guidelines, which recommend between 87 and 108 months.

“Roger Stone obstructed Congress’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, lied under oath, and tampered with a witness,” the DOJ court filing reads. “And when his crimes were revealed by the indictment in this case, he displayed contempt for this Court and the rule of law.” Continue reading.

NOTE:  Updates  on this will post tomorrow.

Prosecutors quit amid escalating Justice Dept. fight over Roger Stone’s prison term

Washington Post logoAll four career prosecutors handling the case against Roger Stone, a confidant of President Trump, asked to withdraw from the legal proceedings Tuesday — and one quit his job entirely — after the Justice Department signaled it planned to reduce their sentencing recommendation for the president’s friend.

Jonathan Kravis, one of the prosecutors, wrote in a court filing he had resigned as an assistant U.S. attorney, leaving government altogether. Three others — Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, Adam Jed and Michael Marando — asked a judge’s permission to leave the case.

Zelinsky, a former member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team, also indicated in a filing he was quitting his special assignment to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, though a spokeswoman said he will remain an assistant U.S. attorney in Baltimore. Continue reading.

Prosecutor withdraws from Roger Stone case

The Hill logoA Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor who asked a judge to sentence Roger Stone to between seven and nine years in prison has withdrawn from the former Trump aide’s case after reports that officials would seek to reduce the sentencing recommendation.

The withdrawal by prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky on Tuesday came after the initial sentencing guidance was sharply criticized by President Trump, raising questions about potential political interference in the sentencing of Stone. Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress and witness tampering.

It’s unclear if Zelinsky’s move was done of his own volition. Zelinsky declined a request for comment. Continue reading.

Roger Stone asks to delay Feb. 6 sentencing by at least one month, saying he needs more time to complete financial disclosure statement

Washington Post logoAttorneys for longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone asked a federal judge Thursday to postpone his scheduled Feb. 6 sentencing by at least one month, saying he needs more time to collect financial and other records needed for a sentencing advisory report.

Stone, 67, was convicted by a federal jury in Washington last month of one count of tampering with a witness and six counts of lying to Congress about his efforts to learn of hacked Democratic emails during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Stone faces a maximum 50 years in prison for the charges, although a first offender would face far less time under federal sentencing guidelines. Stone was charged as part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian election interference.  Continue reading

Roger Stone joins the remarkable universe of criminality surrounding President Trump

Washington Post logoOn Friday, President Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone was found guilty on seven criminal charges related to testimony he gave to Congress as part of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Those charges included five counts of offering false statements, one of obstruction and one of witness tampering. Stone is scheduled to be sentenced early next year.

Stone was with Trump at the very beginning of the president’s time in politics. In fact, Stone long pushed Trump to enter into the political world, encouraging him repeatedly to announce presidential bids in previous cycles. He was sidelined during Trump’s 2016 run after either quitting or being fired; as with many things related to Stone, details are murky.

Friday’s convictions seem to bring to an end the high-profile criminal probes stemming from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The convictions also contribute to a truly remarkable universe of admitted, proved or alleged criminal behavior involving people linked to Trump.

View the complete November 15 article by Philip Bump on The Washington Post website here.

Jury finds Stone guilty of lying to Congress

The Hill logoRoger Stone, the right-wing provocateur and longtime associate of President Trump, was convicted on Friday of lying to Congress and witness tampering related to his efforts to feed the Trump campaign inside information about WikiLeaks in 2016.

Jurors convicted Stone on all seven counts of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering.

The verdict marks another high-profile victory for former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose legal team alleged that Stone had tried to conceal from Congress his contacts with the Trump campaign and people he believed were feeding him inside information about WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.

View the complete November 15 article by Harper Neidig on The Hill website here.

Roger Stone’s lies caused inaccurate House Russia report, Mueller team says

Defense says the longtime Trump confidant had no ‘motive’ to lie

Lawyers delivered closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of Roger Stone, a longtime Republican political operative and confidant of President Donald Trump accused of lying to Congress about his interactions with the president’s 2016 campaign and his connections to WikiLeaks.

Stone pleaded not guilty in January to a seven-count indictment of lying to investigators, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday.

Stone and his lawyers have questioned prosecutors’ motives for pursuing the case against him, accusing them of trying to exact political retribution against Stone for his association with Trump.

View the complete November 13 article by Griffin Connolly on The Roll Call website here.

Roger Stone’s defense: MAGA, God and Donald Trump

As a legal strategy, it caught many by surprise. As a political play, it might be perfectly tailored for another audience — MAGA-ites and the president himself.

For once, Roger Stone is letting others do the talking.

The political provocateur has spent decades verbally sparring with almost anyone who is willing to engage. But as his trial over lying to Congress and tampering with a witness nears its end, Stone has left his defense in the hands of external factors: lawyers, God, the race card, a coterie of MAGA-world figures and, if all else fails, President Donald Trump.

Given the chance to tell his side of the story, Stone chose not to take the witness stand. Given the opportunity to call witnesses, his attorneys opted instead to simply play portions of the congressional testimony in question.

View the complete November 13 article by Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein on the Politico website here.

Roger Stone Trial Testimony Ends With Talk of Outreach to Jared Kushner

WASHINGTON — Testimony in the colorful trial of Roger Stone — featuring talk of dognapping and Godfather references — wrapped up Tuesday with a top Trump campaign official telling jurors that Stone tried to contact Jared Kushner to “debrief” him about hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

While Stone’s trial in Washington didn’t produce the bombshells about President Donald Trump that some expected, the testimony over the last week reinforced that those at the highest ranks of the Trump campaign were eager to gather information about WikiLeaks’ plan to release the damaging emails and saw Stone — who had repeatedly inferred he had inside information about those plans — as the best person to gather that intelligence.

Stone, a longtime Trump friend and ally, is charged with witness tampering and lying to Congress about his attempts to contact WikiLeaks about the damaging material during the 2016 presidential campaign.

View the complete November 12 article on the Time website here.