Roger Stone’s supporters wasted little time following his conviction on seven federal criminal counts Friday to push President Trump for a pardon.
Allies of the Republican strategist began circulating a “Pardon Roger Stone” petition created on the White House website soon the former Trump election campaign adviser was found guilty of all charges he faced as a result of the special counsel’s investigation into the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
“We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the President of the United States grant a full and unconditional pardon to Roger Jason Stone Jr.,” reads the entirety of the petition.
The request appears on the “We the People” section of the White House website that lets members of the public create petitions with the goal of receiving a response.
Petitions that garner 100,000 signatures within 30 days get an official update from the White House, according to the White House, though the current administration has only answered a fraction of the qualifying petitions since inheriting the platform from former President Barack Obama.
Mr. Stone’s supporters began circulating the petition soon after he was found guilty late Friday morning during the second day of jury deliberations.
Jack Posobiec, a conservative media personality and conspiracy theorist with more than a half-million Twitter followers, and Enrique Tarrio, a congressional candidate and chairman of the controversial Proud Boys group, were among Mr. Stone’s most recognizable defenders who shared the petition on Twitter within about an hour of the verdict being reported, with the former’s tweet linking to the petition being shared, or retweeted, about 1,200 times as of early Friday evening.
The petition itself boasted a little over 2,000 signatures as of roughly five hours after it started being shared.
Mr. Stone, 67, was indicted in January on charges related to interfering in efforts by Congress to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He was found guilty of counts of obstruction, witness tampering and perjury, and he faces up to 50 years imprisonment when he’s sentenced at a later date.
An early adviser to the president’s election campaign, Mr. Stone considered himself close to Mr. Trump for decades prior to the latter’s successful run for the White House in 2016.
“I think I’m being persecuted for political reasons,” Mr. Stone told The Washington Times shortly after being indicted.
The White House did not immediately return a message inquiring about the possibility of Mr. Stone receiving a presidential pardon.
Mr. Trump appeared to take issue with the verdict, however. He reacted on Twitter by naming several individuals he has accused of perjury before adding: “A double standard like never seen before in the history of our Country?”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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