Trump Considers Pardoning Roger Stone

President Donald Trump said in several interviews that he is considering pardoning his former political adviser Roger Stone, who in January 2019 was convicted on seven counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and lying to federal investigators and later sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.

“I am always thinking. You’ll be watching like everyone else in this case,” Trump told Fox News personality Sean Hannity when asked if he was considering a pardon or commutation for Stone.

The remarks Trump made to Hannity can be heard in the video below.

In an interview with radio host Howie Carr, the president claimed Stone was framed. He was treated horrible. He was treated so badly.” He reiterated that Stone the “victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt.”

The president’s comments mirror those he made last month.

“Roger 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!” Trump wrote online in response to a tweet from Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who said Stone “will serve more time in prison than 99% of these rioters destroying America,” a reference to the protests in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis.

Stone was convicted of lying during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017 to conceal the role he played in the Trump campaign’s attempt to learn about Democratic computer files hacked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks to damage Hillary Clinton in 2016. Earlier this week, he asked an appeals court to delay his 40-month prison sentence because of the coronavirus pandemic. He is due to report to prison on July 14.

Alan Ryland

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.