Donald Trump commutes ally Roger Stone’s jail sentence

The US president used his ‘awesome and unique power’ to save a longtime political confidante from spending 40 months behind bars.

US President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime ally Roger Stone, shielding the veteran Republican operative from 40 months behind bars.

“Roger Stone is now a free man!” the White House said in a statement, days before he was to report to a federal prison to start serving his term.

Mr Trump’s act is certain to renew charges that the president intervenes in the US justice system to help friends and allies and punish critics and perceived enemies.

Mr Stone, one of Trump’s oldest confidants, was convicted last November of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to help him win the 2016 election.

US President Donald Trump.

Roger Stone is free thanks to Trump.

STONE ‘A VICTIM OF THE RUSSIA HOAX’: WHITE HOUSE

The White House statement reiterated Trump’s charge that Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated an alleged crime that was never committed. It argued that Mr Stone should therefore never have been charged in the first place.

“The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr Stone would not be facing time in prison,” it said.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president had made the decision to commute Stone’s sentence “in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial”.

“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,” Ms McEnany said in a statement on Friday night.

“There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist.”

Ms McEnany claimed the charges against Mr Stone were a “product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice” and said he would “be put at serious medical risk in prison”.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Picture: JIM WATSON / AFP.

‘TRUMP USED HIS AWESOME AND UNIQUE POWER’

In a statement toFox News, Mr Stone’s solicitor Grant Smith said his client was over the moon with Mr Trump’s move.

“Mr Stone is incredibly honoured that President Trump used his awesome and unique power under the Constitution of the United States for this act of mercy,” he said.

“Mr and Mrs Stone appreciate all the consideration the President gave to this matter.”

Mr Trump for weeks has signalled he could be open to granting Mr Stone clemency — tweeting last month that he was “a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!”

Earlier this week Mr Stone said he was “praying” for Mr Trump to intervene.

When asked whether he’d prefer a pardon or a commutation of his sentence, Mr Stone told Fox News: “Either one obviously would have an effect, in my opinion, of saving my life.”

A presidential pardon completely absolves an individual of the crime he or she is found to have committed.

A commutation lessens the punishment or eliminates jail time, but leaves the conviction standing.

“I have deep concerns about going to a prison where there absolutely is COVID virus, and, therefore, either one would have an effect of saving my life,” Mr Stone said.

He added: “If I should be fortunate enough to get a commutation, I would continue to fight for vindication.”

The decision to commute Mr Stone’s sentence has been slammed. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP.

‘THERE ARE TWO SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE IN AMERICA’

Reaction from the other side of US politics has been swift, with Democratic politicians condemning Mr Trump’s move.

“Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else,” House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said, the BBC reported.

“Is there any power Trump won’t abuse?” Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez also said.

Democratic senator and one time presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren tweeted: “Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history.”

But many Republicans have praised Mr Trump’s decision, arguing Mr Stone’s conviction had been the result of a “biased” case.

Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump and Roger Stone.

The commutation is just for a case where the way it was handled (early morning raids, deprivation of free speech, biased jury ignored by a political judge) and the sentence imposed, was draconian in comparison to the acts.

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) July 11, 2020

Mr Stone was one of the first Republican figures to support Donald Trump running for president.

WHO IS ROGER STONE?

Mr Stone has been a stalwart of the Republican party since the 1970s and was one of the first political figures to support the idea of a Trump presidency.

He began his political career working on Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign and was accused of involvement in the Watergate scandal, however, Mr Stone insists he never broke any laws.

Mr Stone went on to work on the successful runs for presidency by Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush before going to work for Mr Trump.

During the 1990s Mr Stone worked as a lobbyist for Mr Trump’s casino empire before turning to The Apprentice star’s political aspirations.

Mr Stone worked on the Trump presidential campaign until he abruptly quit in 2015 amid speculation the pair had fallen out.

But Mr Stone later came out in support of Mr Trump despite the US president distancing himself from his longtime ally once he was elected.