Roger Stone, the long-time political advisor to presidents and friend of Donald Trump, has found out his fate on obstruction and jury tampering charges in a D.C. courtroom. It is the last case from the Mueller investigation, which found no “collusion” between President Trump and Russia.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson told those gathered in the courtroom, including his family, that “I am not here to judge Roger Stone the person. That’s for a higher authority.” In her long speech on the sentencing, Jackson admitted that it isn’t an exact science and used letters, evidence, and memos to come to her decision. CBS radio reported that Jackson said, “The sentence is not just about punishing him (Stone), but about being a deterrent to others…there was nothing phony about the investigation.”
In the end, she sentenced Stone to 40 months in federal prison.
CBS News reported, “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.”
Investigators at the highest levels of the FBI, DOJ, and intelligence agencies used phony opposition research provided by the Democratic National Committee and 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign to get foreign intelligence surveillance warrants to spy on the Trump campaign. They contrived a narrative suggesting that Trump was a Russian agent who was surrounded by other Russian assets. The Inspector General’s office found that two of the FISA warrants sought to spy on the Trump campaign were illegally obtained. Two others are still under investigation. The predicate for the entire bizarre “spygate” investigation and Mueller probe are now under investigation by the Department of Justice.
CBS reporter Bill Rehkopf noted that the judge took a “subtle dig at the president. She says she cannot be affected by someone whose political career could be impacted by the case. Also says she can’t be ‘buffeted by the Left.'”
Before sentencing, Stone, who has been under a gag order the entire prosecution, said he had nothing to say at the hearing. Later, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said “I have a lot to say” on the matter.
CBS reporter Bill Rehkopf kept track of the judge’s sentencing comments on Twitter:
Jackson describes Stone's willingness to appear before the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 as it investigated Russian interference in the election. The judge says Stone lied to Congress about his story. "That is why he was indicted," Jackson says.
— Bill Rehkopf (@BillRehkopf) February 20, 2020
Now, Jackson is shifting to Stone's character, saying he cultivated an image of a "provocateur" and a "bare-knuckled brawler." Also cites the "beautiful" letter of Stone's step-daughter who spoke of Stone's kindness and generosity.
— Bill Rehkopf (@BillRehkopf) February 20, 2020
"I am not here to judge Roger Stone the person," Jackson says. "That's for a higher authority."
— Bill Rehkopf (@BillRehkopf) February 20, 2020
Among those prosecuted by the Mueller investigation were Stone, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos and General Mike Flynn.
Stone’s attorneys tried to get his sentencing delayed while the court looked into evidence that the jury forewoman—a lawyer, former Democratic congressional candidate and avowed Leftist who was knowledgeable about the Mueller investigation—was a Trump-hating partisan according to her own social media. She told attorneys during jury selection that she didn’t keep up with the case and could be objective.
The judge denied the motion to delay and for a new trial until after the sentencing since she claimed her sentence would be set aside anyway.
Four of the prosecution attorneys – holdovers from the tainted Mueller investigation – quit the case when they recommended the 67-year-old Stone be sentenced to nine years in federal prison. The judge said in court that the first sentencing memo by the four was “too much.”
Jackson says she agrees with the amended sentence memo, in terms of its scope. She also says that the defense's probation request is "simply not sufficient."
— Bill Rehkopf (@BillRehkopf) February 20, 2020
Stone’s crime was pretending to know more about WikiLeaks getting Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails. It turns out he knew nothing, but was prosecuted.
Stone was arrested by a team of officers wearing tactical gear and armed with long guns to arrest the older man, who has no previous record.
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