Roger Stone’s bid to delay starting his 40-month prison sentence received a blow Thursday when the Justice Department said it was “reasonable” for the longtime GOP operative to begin his term next week.
Stone has asked a federal appeals court to delay his prison term, citing concerns about the deadly coronavirus crisis. He is scheduled to start his sentence on July 14.
In a court filing, the Justice Department said that date “is a reasonable exercise of that court’s discretion based on the totality of the factual and legal circumstances.”
The Justice Department’s opposition means Stone’s likely last hope to avoid prison is a pardon from President Trump, a longtime friend.
The department also said Stone has not offered any legal arguments on why he should be treated differently than other convicted felons.
Stone’s legal team asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to halt an earlier decision by trial Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who ordered him to report to a federal prison in Jesup, Georgia.
Stone was originally set to report on June 30, but Judge Jackson delayed the sentence, ordering him to spend the time quarantining at home.
The facility has three inmates infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, along with six others who had no symptoms but tested positive and no staff cases, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
Stone’s attorneys said the 67-year-old political operative can’t start his sentence because of unspecified medical conditions that “require close monitoring and strict compliance with the directions of his physician.”
They say Judge Jackson “wholly ignored” the advice of Stone’s doctor. Court filings detailing Stone’s medical conditions are under seal, but in the past Stone has said he suffers from asthma and other respiratory issues.
Stone was convicted last year of making false statements, obstructing justice and witness tampering in a bid to undermine a congressional panel’s probe into allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.
The case was an offshoot of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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