President Trump congratulated Attorney General William P. Barr on Wednesday for “taking charge” of the Roger Stone case, questioning whether his longtime friend should have been charged in the Russia probe in the first place.
“Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!”
His comment came a day after Justice Department officials took the unusual step of seeking a lower prison sentence recommendation for Stone, prompting four career federal prosecutors to quit the case. On Monday, prosecutors had recommended a prison term of seven to nine years for Stone, who was convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering.
The president had tweeted that the proposed sentence for Stone was “unfair,” hours before the Justice Department’s change of mind became public. But Mr. Trump said he didn’t speak to anyone in the Justice Department about the case, and a Justice spokesperson said the decision to seek a lower sentence came before the president’s tweet.
“I didn’t speak to them. I thought the recommendation was ridiculous,” Mr. Trump told reporters I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I thought it was an insult to our country, and it shouldn’t happen.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York asked the Justice Department’s inspector general on Tuesday to immediately open an investigation of the department’s handling of the Stone case. He said he suspects political interference by the White House in a criminal prosecution.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump denies speaking to Justice Department officials about Roger Stone sentence
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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