Roger Stone abandoned efforts to have a federal appeals court overturn the seven felony convictions he received as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
President Trump’s longtime confidant and former adviser will effectively remain a convicted felon after moving late Monday to drop his case pending in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C.
“On the strong advice of my attorneys and after giving the decision considerable thought, I have reluctantly decided to dismiss the appeal of what I believe to be a wrongful conviction in a trial tainted by judicial bias, egregious and blatant juror bias and misconduct and prosecutorial misconduct,” Stone said in a statement.
Stone, 67, was charged in early 2019 as part of the investigation led by Mr. Mueller’s team into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election ultimately won by Mr. Trump.
He was convicted by a jury in November of all charges, including five counts of lying to Congress and one count each of obstructing a congressional probe and witness tampering, and sentenced in February to serve 40 months in federal prison.
Mr. Trump intervened days before Stone was set to start serving time by commuting his sentence, however, sparing him from prison while leaving the convictions.
Stone challenged both his convictions and sentence in federal appeals court in the interim, and his lawyers had until 11:59 p.m. Monday to file their first brief.
“I have been fully informed of the circumstances of my case and the consequences of a dismissal, and I wish to dismiss the appeal,” Stone wrote in a motion filed less than an hour before the deadline.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.