President Trump on Saturday defended commuting his friend and former adviser Roger Stone’s sentence amid the decision prompting fresh criticism from both sides of the aisle.
“Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter several hours after the commutation was announced late Friday.
Democrats and Republicans alike reacted Saturday morning to Stone being spared a prison sentence by accusing Mr. Trump of corruption, meanwhile.
“President Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of top campaign advisor Roger Stone, who could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct, is an act of staggering corruption,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said in a statement.
“Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,” Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah Republican, said on Twitter.
Stone, 67, was charged with seven felonies as a result of the government’s investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including counts of obstructing Congress, lying to lawmakers and threatening a witness. A jury convicted him across the board last year, and in February he was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment.
Mr. Trump had indicated in recent weeks he may pardon Stone or commute his sentence, which he strongly criticized in contradiction to his own attorney general, William P. Barr.
“I think the prosecution was righteous and I think the sentence the judge ultimately gave was fair,” Mr. Barr told ABC News on Wednesday this week.
Four days before Stone was set to surrender to federal authorities and begin serving time, Mr. Trump commuted his sentence Friday evening amid speculation he would intervene.
“It is the other side that are criminals,” Mr. Trump said Saturday morning on Twitter before alleging Democrats in the White House before him “spied” on his 2016 campaign.
The government’s investigation into the 2016 race, led by former FBI director-turned-special counsel Robert Mueller, resulted in the Department of Justice bringing criminal charges against a total of 34 individuals and three businesses, including several with close ties to Mr. Trump and his campaign who were subsequently found guilty in federal court.
A jury found Stone guilty of charges related to lying to federal investigations about his connections with WikiLeaks, the website that released stolen material during the 2016 race damaging to Mr. Trump’s opponent, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as threatening another witness he encouraged to similarly mislead investigators.
“Legislation is needed to ensure that no President can pardon or commute the sentence of an individual who is engaged in a cover-up campaign to shield that President from criminal prosecution,” Mrs. Pelosi said in the statement Saturday. “Roger Stone’s seven felony crimes, which include lying to Congress and witness tampering, constitute grave crimes. All who commit these illegal acts should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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