Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of his longtime friend Roger Stone on Friday, days before he was set to report to prison, CNN reports.
Stone was convicted last November by a jury in Washington D.C. of lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election, witness tampering and obstructing congressional committee proceedings.
Stone was set to report to prison on July 14 to begin his 40 month prison sentence.
“Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency,” said Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary. “There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia.”
She added, “Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts. The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so. At this time, however, and particularly in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial, the President has determined to commute his sentence. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!”
Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff said Trump’s commutation of Stone’s sentence: “Makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else. Donald Trump, Bill Barr, and all those who enable them pose the gravest of threats to the rule of law.”
Read the full report on CNN.
