Trump Tweets Fuel Speculation Roger Stone Pardon Likely
Two tweets by President Trump Thursday indicate that a pardon of Roger Stone appears likely. Stone was sentenced Thursday morning to 40 months in prison following convictions in federal court on charges of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
As Stone was in court awaiting his sentence, Trump tweeted, ““They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.”
@CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?”
“They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.” @CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020
Overnight, Trump tweeted a video segment from Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson about the Stone case that is currently pinned to the top of Trump’s Twitter page in which Carlson comments on the unfairness of the Stone prosecution and observes that Trump had issued pardons this week, speculating that Trump may pardon Stone.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020
Trump’s pinning the tweet has some believing a pardon is being considered.
Trump’s pinned tweet suggests he’s seriously considering pardoning Roger Stone. https://t.co/fuY7sbpxOD
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) February 20, 2020
In her sentencing of Stone, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Stone was prosecuted for covering up for Trump. Observers noted that Jackson was laying a political landmine in case Trump pardons Stone.
SNAP: 'He was not prosecuted for standing up for the president. He was prosecuted for covering up for the president.'
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) February 20, 2020
Pardoning Stone before the election carries a political risk for the president.
Judge Jackson pointedly said his social media posts amounted to threats against the court, and said Stone took part in a cover up on Trump's behalf.
Fodder for Trump's opponents, if a pardon comes.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) February 20, 2020
This is an important statement from the Judge (Stone convicted for covering up for Trump) because it will make it much more difficult for Trump to pardon/commute without such an act constituting a total abuse of power. https://t.co/UASNO2T7IR
— Richard Signorelli (@richsignorelli) February 20, 2020
Any decision by Trump to pardon Stone may be delayed as Stone earlier filed a motion for a new trial that Jackson said she would rule on some time after she passed sentence. Stone will not be jailed until the motion is considered.
ABC News reporter Cecelia Vega speculates a pardon could come in hours or days.
.@CeciliaVega on pardon speculation for Roger Stone: "It could be hours, it could be days…but I don't think this is going to be a big surprise to anyone when, in fact, if Donald Trump pardons Roger Stone." https://t.co/2PtRAp8Hr1 pic.twitter.com/wPTfFOzaLa
— ABC News (@ABC) February 20, 2020
BREAKING: Roger Stone sentence: Count 1-40 months…Counts 2-6-12 months concurrently for each count…Count 7-18 months, concurrent with other counts. $20,000 fine. @CBSNewsRadio
— Bill Rehkopf (@BillRehkopf) February 20, 2020
NBC report on the sentence, “40 months in prison, $20,000 fine, 2 years probation, 250 hours community service”
Full Roger Stone sentence:
• 40 months in prison
• $20,000 fine
• 2 years probation
• 250 hours community servicehttps://t.co/3Zs1iJTGGG— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 20, 2020
The post Trump Tweets Fuel Speculation Roger Stone Pardon Likely appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.