- The Washington Times - Saturday, May 16, 2020

Roger Stone, President Trump’s convicted former campaign adviser, predicted Friday that Republicans may try to impeach the federal judge who presided over his criminal trial.

Stone, who is awaiting the start of a 40-month prison sentence he received as a result of the conviction, said on social media that he anticipates Republicans will set their sights on U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson if the GOP takes control of the House of Representatives from Democrats following the next round of congressional races in November.

The longtime political consultant and strategist also predicted Republicans will seek to remove U.S. District Court Judge Emmett G. Sullivan, who has recently faced criticism from Stone and other prominent right-wing personalities over his handling of the controversial case against Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s convicted former national security adviser.

“Judge Sullivan has an IQ of about 70 and he’s on the bench simply because he could not make it as an attorney in private practice. His stupidity is legendary in legal circles,” Stone posted on Instagram.

“His disregard for both the law and the constitution is only matched by that of the epically corrupt Amy Berman Jackson. Expect House Republicans to move a bill of impeachment Against both in 2021 if they take the House,” Stone added.

Stone, 67, was convicted last year in Judge Jackson’s court by a jury that found him guilty of all seven felony charges he faced as a result of the special counsel’s investigation into the 2016 presidential election, including counts of obstruction, witness tampering and lying to Congress. He is currently challenging the conviction and sentence in federal appeals court.

Flynn, 61, was also charged as a result of the special counsel’s probe, and he pleaded guilty in late 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a senior Russian official. He had been awaiting sentencing when the Department of Justice abruptly dropped his case last week, and Judge Sullivan subsequently appointed a retired federal court judge, John Gleeson, to argue against the government’s motion.

Right-wing figures supportive of Flynn have since slammed his judge’s decision to review the Justice Department’s request. Conservative commentator Jeanine Pirro recently said that Mr. Sullivan “should be embarrassed to put a robe on,” while fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity said about the retired judge: “You reek of ignorance, you reek of political bias!”

Judge Jackson and Judge Sullivan were appointed by former President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, respectively. Mr. Gleeson was appointed to the bench by Mr. Clinton in 1994 and retired nearly 22 years later.

• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.

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