Trump ally Roger Stone sentenced to over 3 years in prison
February 20, 2020 3:42PM AKST
Roger Stone, center, departs federal court in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. President Donald Trump loyalist and ally, Roger Stone was sentenced to over three years in federal prison, following an extraordinary move by Attorney General William Barr to back off his Justice Department’s original sentencing recommendation. The sentence came amid President Donald Trump’s unrelenting defense of his longtime confidant that led to a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department and allegations the president interfered in the case. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) – Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for obstructing a congressional investigation in a case that has sparked fears about presidential interference in the justice system. Soon after Judge Amy Berman Jackson pronounced sentence on Thursday, Trump publicly decried Stone’s conviction as unfair. But Trump says he isn’t ready to act just yet on a pardon. Trump had denounced as a “miscarriage of justice” the initial Justice Department recommendation that Stone receive at least seven years in prison. Attorney General William Barr backed off that recommendation, prompting four prosecutors to quit Stone’s case.
