July 11, 2020

"Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency."

So reads the official White House statement about the commutation of the Stone sentence. I know — from my very slight dabbling in radio and TV news last night and this morning — that this issue is getting talked to death. It's the outrage of the day, blotting out whatever was the outrage of the day before, and soon to be blotted out by the next outrage. So I don't think my time is well used listening to any of that. If I know they're talking, I already know what they are saying — more or less. But I do think it's worth looking at the details of what the White House put in an official statement in this case. Most official statements are in bland officialese, though it can be interesting to try to read between the lines or just to translate it into plain English.

But this official statement is written in the style of Trump's rally rhetoric. Let's continue (the boldface is mine):
There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist. As it became clear that these witch hunts would never bear fruit, the Special Counsel’s Office resorted to process-based charges leveled at high-profile people in an attempt to manufacture the false impression of criminality lurking below the surface. These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice. This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone...

The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr. Stone would not be facing time in prison. In addition to charging Mr. Stone with alleged crimes arising solely from their own improper investigation, the Mueller prosecutors also took pains to make a public and shameful spectacle of his arrest. Mr. Stone is a 67-year-old man, with numerous medical conditions, who had never been convicted of another crime. But rather than allow him to surrender himself, they used dozens of FBI agents with automatic weapons and tactical equipment, armored vehicles, and an amphibious unit to execute a pre-dawn raid of his home, where he was with his wife of many years. Notably, CNN cameras were present to broadcast these events live to the world, even though they swore they were not notified—it was just a coincidence that they were there together with the FBI early in the morning.

Not only was Mr. Stone charged by overzealous prosecutors pursing a case that never should have existed, and arrested in an operation that never should have been approved, but there were also serious questions about the jury in the case. The forewoman of his jury, for example, concealed the fact that she is a member of the so-called liberal “resistance” to the Trump Presidency. In now-deleted tweets, this activist-juror vividly and openly attacked President Trump and his supporters....

Mr. Stone would be put at serious medical risk in prison. He has appealed his conviction and is seeking a new trial.... The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so. At this time, however, and particularly in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial, the President has determined to commute his sentence. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!

122 comments:

gbarto said...

I think this is nice. Pardoning is a political act based on powers given the executive, not a legal act emanating from the judiciary.

It is interesting to juxtapose this with Judge Sullivan's refusal to let go of Flynn. In both cases, people are acting as though the judiciary is sacrosanct and the executive is, well, kind of seamy, rather than being a co-equal branch with its own ways of exercising power to effect the ends of government and, thus, of the people.

Somebody please make a note of this so that when I bemoan the political ugliness of some future president's use of the pardon power, I can be reminded of it.

rcocean said...

Bravo Trump! It should be remembered that Stone was not protecting Trump when he lied to Congress. Like Flynn's so-called lie, it was on a tangential issue. Of course, Mitt Romney, who NEVER publicly attacked Clinton or Obama for their commutation/pardon's of FLN Terrorists or Marc Rich, now attacks Trump in the most vicious manner:

Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president.

This is, to put it bluntly a LIE. Of course, no matter how much Romney LIES, people will insist that Mittens is a honorable, honest, man. I guess a sanctimonious air & nice family will excuse any Unchristian behavior.

YoungHegelian said...

The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist.

Not only did the Mueller investigations find that no Americans could be proven guilty of Russian collusion, when one of the four Russian organizations they indicted tried to fight back in an American court, the investigators used the beginning COVID crisis as cover to drop even those charges.

n.n said...

Yes, yes, yes.

dozens of FBI agents with automatic weapons and tactical equipment, armored vehicles, and an amphibious unit

I knew, didn't know, and wow.

"CNN cameras..." Of course.

As we remember the witches and warlocks of these past 16 trimesters. Something something matter.

Drago said...

Robert Barnes sums it up nicely.

Robert Barnes@Barnes_Law

The Cliffs Notes:
Selective prosecution;
Dubious materiality to false statements;
Venue manipulation;
Judicial assignment manipulation;
Excessive raids;
Unconstitutional gag orders;
Discovery suppression;
Partial, prejudiced jury;
Disparate sentencing.

Tina Trent said...

Do I think Trump could be spending his time more wisely?

Yes.

Do I think this statement is far less crazy and delusional than Clinton and Obama official statements praising terrorist murderers they pardoned while in office?

Yes.

BothSidesNow said...

Nice to see Trump highlight the heavy-handed nature of the FBI arrest of Stone. Too bad Trump could not focus that concern on other instances of "heavy-handed" police tactics, such as the no-knock warrant in Kentucky that resulted in the killing of Breonna Taylor while she lay in bed. Instead, Trump continues to support programs that give weapons of war to local police departments around the country, gives speeches where he encourages the police to rough up people they have arrested, and is offended by protests aimed at "heavy-handed" police tactics. All-in-all, it is bit rich for Trump to call out the FBI in this one instance, and to ignore everything else.

Bottom line. Trump did not like being investigated on Russia. Maybe he shouldn't have appointed an attorney general who lied or forgot about his contacts with Russia during the campaign (Jeff Sessions). Don't appoint the liar, and you don't get a recusal, and if you don't get a recusal, you don't get the investigation. But having appointed the liar, he got the investigation, and folks aren't supposed to lie to Congress, hence the jury convicted Stone. Here, the so-called Law and Order guy lets the perjurer go free.

Tina Trent said...

Also, Stone's "autobiographical life guide" called Stone's Rules is hands-down the funniest and most incisive political book I've ever read.

Joan said...

Love it. Tells the story succinctly yet completely, with a great punchy style.

I hope many people read it, but I doubt they will.

Michael K said...

Stone is a fool and tried to exaggerate his role but the judge and jury foreperson were corrupt and determined to punish any Trump supporter. A pardon would be too much. This is about right. The disgraceful behavior of the Mueller-Weissmann operation, calling CNN to be there when they staged a raid on his home is beneath contempt.

rcocean said...

In case you've forgotten this is what Stone was convicted of:

The indictment deals largely with what prosecutors say were Stone's false statements about his conversations with conservative writer and conspiracy theorist, Jerome Corsi, and New York radio host, Randy Credico.

It accuses Stone of carrying out a "prolonged effort" to keep Credico from contradicting his testimony before the House intelligence committee. During that effort, prosecutors note that Stone repeatedly told Credico to "do a 'Frank Pentangeli,' " a reference to a character in "The Godfather: Part II" who lies before Congress.


As you can see, it had ZERO to do with "Shielding Trump". Another Mitt Romney LIE.

traditionalguy said...

That was a concise statement of fact. Sounded to me like Jay Sekulo wrote it.

The reason it is newsworthy is its being a major darkness to light moment engineered by DJT. The recited facts expose another totally corrupt Federal Judge who was appointed by Obama and totally bought off by Hillary Clinton's Crime Syndicate.

Mike said...

All he did was lie, repeatedly, to investigators and try to intimidate a witness. Poor man.

Fun fact: Trump is on pace to grant the fewest pardons or commutations in Presidential history. But 31 of 36 have been for his various thugs and cronies.

Inga said...

At this point, who can realistically expect anything even remotely presidential to come out of the Trump White House? Trump turned the US presidency into some schizophrenic game show. I’ve come to expect nothing less from them.

#2020 Blue Tsunami

Mike said...

"Stone is a fool and tried to exaggerate his role but the judge and jury foreperson were corrupt and determined to punish any Trump supporter."

This is garbage. Everyone in the jury testified that she was fair, that she in fact made them debate charges they initially agreed just to make sure they'd covered everything. There as an extensive hearing on this.

But I get it. Everyone who crosses the Dear Leader or one of his cronies is corrupt.

n.n said...

Prosecutors Drop Mueller Charges Against Russian Firm Weeks Before Trial

So, that's what happened. Mueller et al must have been surprised when the Firm decided to stand, rather than kneel... and lick their shoes.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Inga - only losers buy the Russian collusion hoax.

Ray - SoCal said...

Amazing how good Trump Is at trolling, And getting opponents to show their hypocrisy.

I’m so disappointed in Romney.

narciso said...

the same judge who bent over backwards to prevent greg craig, who fixed a case in the ukraine, from a prosecution, with her jury instructions,

narciso said...

the same judge who bent over backwards to prevent greg craig, who fixed a case in the ukraine, from a prosecution, with her jury instructions,

Clyde said...

Headline of Matt Margolis column at PJMedia: "Obama Granted Clemency to Terrorists and Traitors, But Democrats Are Angry About Roger Stone"

To hell with the Democrats!

robother said...

As usual, Trump's statements are completely outrageous, not because they are false, but because they are true.

Michael K said...

This is garbage. Everyone in the jury testified that she was fair, that she in fact made them debate charges they initially agreed just to make sure they'd covered everything. There as an extensive hearing on this.

But I get it. Everyone who crosses the Dear Leader or one of his cronies is corrupt.


Either you have not read anything about this case or you are a hard lefty. I am assuming you and Inga are about the same level of intellect.

narciso said...

of course judge jackson, was one who gagged him, letting the corrupt prosecutor, repeat the lies, kafka hold my ale,

effinayright said...

Mike said...
"Stone is a fool and tried to exaggerate his role but the judge and jury foreperson were corrupt and determined to punish any Trump supporter."

This is garbage. Everyone in the jury testified that she was fair, that she in fact made them debate charges they initially agreed just to make sure they'd covered everything. There as an extensive hearing on this.
***************

Bullshit. She should have been disqualified during voir dire. None of this "testifying" after the fact that she was "fair". Instead she lied about her lack of bais in the case.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/13/jury-foreman-in-roger-stone-case-was-trump-hating-russia-collusion-hoaxer/

Here is more evidence of her obvious bias:

web.archive.org/web/20190125160255/https://www.npr.org/2018/12/09/643444815/all-the-criminal-charges-to-emerge-so-far-from-robert-muellers-investigation

chickelit said...

Hopefully this frees up Stone to help Trump get reelected.

Joe Smith said...

The manner of his arrest was disgraceful.

And tipping off CNN (and lying about it later) shines a very bright spotlight on the corrupt and incestuous relationship between our supposedly fair and impartial law enforcement agencies and our supposedly fair and impartial media. Both institutions have become a joke; first slowly and then suddenly.

Rabel said...

I see the Junior Senator from Utah is showing his ass again.

dwick said...

As usual, the concern here is over style rather than the substance.

Yancey Ward said...

Romney just flat out lied in his tweet. Nothing Stone did "protected Trump". Indeed, everything Stone did actually did damage to Trump. This is why Trump owed Stone nothing, but the honorable thing to do here was to commute the sentence because it was because Trump won the election that put Stone in the hoaxer's crosshairs to begin with. I would have pardoned him before the trial, but that is just me.

There is another point being missed here by most commentators, though a couple have mentioned this above- the foreperson of Stone's jury lied on her jury questionaire and during voir dire about not being politically active. Stone had a open and shut case for a new trial at a minimum. The right decision for the judge in this case was to continue bail until Stone's appeal is heard, but she didn't do that- that is corrupt, but it was probably done to force Trump to commute the sentence.

Michael K said...

I am not defending Roger Stone. He was a fool. That does not excuse the kangaroo court conducted by Berman Jackson. It is interesting to see the left excuse even this gross miscarriage of justice. There is no depth to which they will not stoop to score a point on Trump.

It reminds me of Robert Bolt's great lines.

And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned around on you--where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast--man's laws, not God's--and if you cut them down...d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.”

They cannot imagine a day when they really did have a Hitler to cope with.

Readering said...

Yet another Trumpist circle jerk.

Inga said...

“I am assuming you and Inga are about the same level of intellect.”

I am assuming that Michael K is a senile coot.

Yancey Ward said...

It is important to repeat what it was that got Stone in trouble:

The Russian Collusion truthers were convinced (or they at least claimed they believed this) that the Trump Campaign helped Wikileaks in some manner to get the DNC e-mails. Stone bragged repeatedly during the 2016 campaign about how he had inside information as to what Wikileaks was about to release. He told Congress the same thing, more or less. However, when Mueller etal. started looking into to it, it was "revealed" that Stone was lying all along about having any kind of access to Wikileaks. Now, I didn't have to spend a fucking dime to figure this out, and I figured it out 4 years ago by just reading Stone's tweets and Wikileaks' actual released documents. Anyone with an IQ of 95-100 could have figure this out in 5 minutes the same way, but it took Mueller's brilliant team 2 years to do so.

None of this "helped Trump"- it hurt Trump the entire time. Stone needed to come clear about the lying during the campaign, but he was too stupid to do so. I think he let his reputation of being a guy in the know go to his head.

Dr Weevil said...

What I find most amusing about Roger Stone is that he looks exactly like a well-known TV character grown old and white-haired, but that character, being an android, wouldn't ever grow old. (For those who may not have noticed the resemblance I find obvious, I mean Commander Data.)

What 'readering' crassly calls a "circle jerk" looks to me more like a game of 'Monkey in the Middle', and 'readering' has just stepped into the middle.

iowan2 said...

Mueller is zero for, 30? In his prosecutions?. Not a single case connected to President Trump has survived examination. Not one.

Banjo said...

"I’m so disappointed in Romney."

Mitt ("I am a severe conservative") has always been as easy to see through as a pane of glass. A RINO throughout his career and the embodiment of that establishment that enjoyed co-governing with the other establishment, he had good looks going for him and a middling career as a business consultant who could have made the big bucks if he had stayed with hedge funds. His competition in the 2012 primaries was the zero-charisma Libertarian Ron Paul, who spoke in a cranky old man's voice straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies. Then Romney took a fall against Obama like it had been arranged beforehand. Mitt never took off the white gloves and the moony looks to the far horizon at applause lines made him look like half-witted. No wonder Trump demolished Jeb! with the low-energy line; he seemed an even lamer Mitt. Romney knows he has no future in the GOP but a half-step sideways and he can be in the Democrat Party. I look for it to happen.

Original Mike said...

"an amphibious unit"! I did not realize Roger Stone was an Olympic swimmer. What a guy!

n.n said...

Stone was an Olympic swimmer.

"One, if by land, and two, if by sea"

Bruce Hayden said...

“Mueller is zero for, 30? In his prosecutions?. Not a single case connected to President Trump has survived examination. Not one.”

Nevertheless, it was successful in its primary purpose - shielding the corruptocrats in the DOJ and FBI (and CIA) from meaningful investigation by Congress until they had flipped the House and substituted Adam Schifty for Devin Nunes as chair of the HPSCI. They almost succeeded in their second goal of transferring all of the information compiled by the FBI under FISA to the Dems in the HPSCI.

Dave Begley said...

Yancey Ward is correct. The trial judge should have ordered a new trial. Stone will win his appeal.

rcocean said...

"Romney knows he has no future in the GOP but a half-step sideways and he can be in the Democrat Party. I look for it to happen."

I suspect Romney won't go full Democrat yet. Unless the Senate splits 50-50, in which case, I could definitely see him going Independent and caucusing with the D's thereby giving them control of the Senate.

Otherwise, he will stay as a Republican till 2024, and go "Maverick" whenever it suits him. This way he gets attention, and if the issue comes down to a close vote, he can stab the R's in the back, like McCain did with Obamacare repeal.

However, if he is primaried in 2024, I would fully expect him to NOT respect the R primary vote, and do what Lisa Murkowski did in Alaska and run as an Independent.

rcocean said...

My impression is that the Mormons are moving Left, and want at least one Senator who's not too right-wing. They have Senator Lee, as a solid R, and probably wouldn't mind if Romney turned Democrat, so they had a foot in both camps.

Michael K said...

Nevertheless, it was successful in its primary purpose

Then process is the punishment. Weissmann was reversed in the Arthur Anderson case by 9-0 at the USSC. Nonetheless, Anderson was destroyed and a niece of mine, a CPA, was so traumatized by the experience, she has had agoraphobia since.

Michael K said...

Readering said...
Yet another Trumpist circle jerk.


Another Inga like non response. You shysters need to look up rules of evidence.

Michael K said...

There is another point being missed here by most commentators, though a couple have mentioned this above- the foreperson of Stone's jury lied on her jury questionaire and during voir dire about not being politically active. Stone had a open and shut case for a new trial at a minimum. The right decision for the judge in this case was to continue bail until Stone's appeal is heard, but she didn't do that- that is corrupt, but it was probably done to force Trump to commute the sentence.

Exactly. The lefties pretend they don't know this. Maybe Inga doesn't know. Anything is possible there.

Michael K said...

Isn't it funny how Mike the Lefty does not come back and offer evidence for his argument ?

Josephbleau said...

After the Scooter Libby case, a juror was interviewed and said, We could not convict Bush, so we convicted Libby in his place. A serendipitous power of the Democrats is that DC is home to superior courts and has jurisdiction over government cases, and the jury pool is government employees, lobbyists, NGO employees, government contractors, and the very poor.

As far as Romney, he simply lies. Harry Reid identified as a Mormon, and he gladly lied. Romney is disgracing his faith and making people believe that Mormons are liars. I challenge Mormons to defend their faith and rebuke lying. Unless they approve of it.

rcocean said...

BTW, nobody has ever explained why all that force was needed to arrest Roger Stone, who was NOT a flight risk, wasn't armed or dangerous, and had been arrested for a process crime. Nor does anyone think Mueller was telling the truth when he said no one from his office told CNN when the arrest would be made.

Notice how the D's and Never-Trumper's laughed and smirked at Stone's arrest, and then feign "OUTRAGE" over his commutation. Pointing out their constant, endless, hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty is tiresome.

People like Turley and McCarthy are more honest and objective, but unfortunately both of them are hung up on an Judicial independence and legalism. McCarthy, weirdly thinks the Stone commutation was bad because it should have either been a full pardon or done right after the conviction. Except, Stone doesn't want a full pardon, and Trump had no to wait till Stone's appeal about the biased forewoman was heard.

Drago said...

Banjo: "Romney knows he has no future in the GOP but a half-step sideways and he can be in the Democrat Party. I look for it to happen."

As noted many times in the last year and a half, Romney only ran for the Senate in order to play "Senator Howard Baker" when the "inevitable" "russia collusion" was "proven" by Mueller's "crack" team of legal beagles who would surely produce the evidence of Trump's crimes.

But there was a problem. There were no crimes. At all. And the Mueller hacks knew it from day 1 thru their coordination with the Hillary crew who paid to have all the fake "evidence" created via FusionGPS/Steele/Putin pals......but Romney believed.

Which is why Romney lobbied so hard to get a the Sec of State job....so he could help engineer a 25th amendment takeout of Trump....but Trump smelled that one out.

After which the Romney Senate run because Romney still "believed" (like Inga still believes).

Now its all just anger at being exposed as a tool of the democrats.

Here's a guarantee: As Banjo stated above, Romney is done in the republican party now that the mask is off.

If the dems reach 50-50 in the Senate races this year its a lock that Romney switches party to the dems to throw the Senate to Schumer and set up impeachments 2, 3, 4 in continuous fashion through to the elections of 2022.

Roy Lofquist said...

This was the first shot. The Trump campaign is going to be God awful nasty. He's been stockpiling ammunition for four years now. There's going to be four months of nasty accusations of sedition, sexual misconduct, and aggravated mopery against all and sundry.

Howard said...

This gets you people very excited. Trump is Hero... once again.

The Vault Dweller said...

Well I guess the Goya boycott isn't going anywhere, the lefty media can't really gin up anger on more than one issue at a time.

Bob Smith said...

I’m so old I remember when Bill Clinton pardoned the drug dealing son of a major campaign contributor. Not only for his past criminal acts but for what might turn up in current investigations. The DOJ professed outrage but they weren’t serious.

Michael K said...

If the dems reach 50-50 in the Senate races this year its a lock that Romney switches party to the dems to throw the Senate to Schumer and set up impeachments 2, 3, 4 in continuous fashion through to the elections of 2022.

Bingo ! Two previous turncoats. Forgotten their names.

Michael K said...

McCarthy, weirdly thinks the Stone commutation was bad because it should have either been a full pardon or done right after the conviction. Except, Stone doesn't want a full pardon, and Trump had no to wait till Stone's appeal about the biased forewoman was heard.

Stone will win his appeal unless it is declared moot. The judge should have delayed his surrender until it was heard. That shows the malice she was moved by.

Drago said...

Michael K: "Isn't it funny how Mike the Lefty does not come back and offer evidence for his argument ?"

In Mike the Lefty's defense, not even he wanted to employ the Inga Mindreading Evidence stratagem which Inga used over and over again for about 4 years to back up her lunatic collusion lies.

Ray - SoCal said...

Arthur Anderson’s destruction was sad. My wife got her CPA there. They were the best at a technical level.

Unfortunately the top firms are a bit like utilities (low fees), and it’s hard to find deliberate fraud. And the tax code has become a huge monster that nobody understands, with lots of carve outs and Lots and lots of financial engineering that is not building value.

chuck said...

and probably wouldn't mind if Romney turned Democrat

Utah was Democrat when I got here in 1971, it was the Nixon/McGovern election that sent them rightward and the main issue was patriotism. Historically, the state has gone back and forth, but I don't think it will go Democrat again anytime soon.

Romney was not the party choice, he came second at the party convention, but he won the primary. I think he got the nomination due to name recognition, religion, and the 2002 Winter Olympics. I didn't vote for him in the primary because I thought Utah would be better served by someone aware of Utah issues and more conservative.

Romney isn't all that popular among Republicans:

Only 46% of Republicans approve of his performance, while 49% disapprove, including nearly a third who strongly disapprove. His favorability among Democrats is 60%, the poll shows.

Could Romney win reelection as a Democrat... Hmmm, maybe.

Narr said...

I took the trouble to hunt down the indictment of Stone-- IANAL(Esq.) but it was the most insubstantial codswallop you can imagine.

That so many resources were devoted to such an obvious goof and prankster--in the investigation, the apprehension, the trial, and now the commutation, is the worst possible indictment of our legal-political-bureaucratic overlords, and proof beyond doubt that we
are doomed under their continued leadership.

Narr
The juryforewoman was known locally as a partisan extremist

wildswan said...

When I heard that CNN was parked across the street at dawn at Roger Stone's arrest to film the SWAT teams, I knew he was innocent of whatever the charges were.

Just an old country lawyer said...

Does anyone really believe that if Mitt had managed to win in 2012, the same slimy crew would not have done the same slimy shit to him that they did against Trump and his associates?

One big difference, though, Mittens would have folded.

Bless his heart.

Narayanan said...

Banjo said...
"I’m so disappointed in Romney."
... Romney knows he has no future in the GOP but a half-step sideways and he can be in the Democrat Party. I look for it to happen.
----------===========
Romney will not switch parties unless R's kick him out.
he really enjoys "this grieves me but I have to do it for my honor" shtik

Drago said...

Michael K: "Bingo ! Two previous turncoats. Forgotten their names."

Chaffee and Specter.

Drago said...

Michael K: "Bingo ! Two previous turncoats. Forgotten their names."

Going the other way, dem to rep, Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Native American and Korean War vet.

Favorite Nighthorse Campbell anecdote: a few months after switching parties Nighthorse-Campbell was asked what his biggest surprise was.

He said that before he switched parties he used to think republicans were exaggerating when they complained about press bias. However, as soon as he changed party all the positions he adopted as a democrat which were lauded and praised overnight became the dumbest policy positions imaginable.

readering said...

Rules of evidence! Convicted, and even Barr advised against commutation after securing sentence reduction.

Clyde said...

Michael K said...
Isn't it funny how Mike the Lefty does not come back and offer evidence for his argument ?


Probably waiting on the next payment from Beijing to clear.

Drago said...

readering: "Rules of evidence! Convicted, and even Barr advised against commutation after securing sentence reduction."

Actually, Judge Berman Jackson completely violated the rules for discovery which alone will likely result in a reversal upon appeal.....appeals that continue since sentence commutation does not preclude the defendent from proceeding to appeal to clear his name.

I see readerings legal acumen matches his/her/xer historical knowledge acumen.

Which was not a difficult bar to clear.....if you know what I mean.

boatbuilder said...

Listening to Howie Carr this week; he had Corey Lewandowski (former Trump campaign manager and now running for Senate in New Hampshire) on. At the end of the interview he asks about Stone (this was before the commutation). He says (paraphrase) "Roger Stone is a bad person. I am not a fan. But he got screwed."
No bullshit about what a patriot Stone is, or about what America owes to Roger Stone. Just--THIS IS WRONG.

The law is not supposed to be about who you are or who you know. Or whether you are a "disreputable" person. Good for Lewandowski. Good for Trump.

All you lefties who think he did this because Stone is some sort of political ally--he used up a lot of political capital for a guy with zero pull who horned his way into his campaign and made him look bad--because the guy got screwed for only one reason--he was connected to Trump. Trump had nothing to lose by letting Stone go to jail, and he could have pardoned him and nobody would have heard anything more about what actually happened. Instead he commuted so that Stone gets his chance to clear his name, and (maybe) something close to the truth gets out.

Had GWB shown anything close to the decency and political courage that Trump has shown here, in the case of Scooter Libby, I would still consider him worthy of the respect I once had for him.

Michael K said...

Going the other way, dem to rep, Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Yeah but the two, aside from Arlen Specter who got his client bail on a murder charge who then skipped to France, were able to swing the majority.

Jeffords did not get enough payoff and there was another. Forgot who.

Michael K said...

eadering said...
Rules of evidence! Convicted, and even Barr advised against commutation after securing sentence reduction.


The shyster ignores the pending appeal. Glad I'm not your client.

steve uhr said...

Another day, another impeachable offense. He gave something of value to Stone in exchange for Stone not rolling on Trump. I believe the word is bribery. The fact that Trump has broad power to pardon does not mean that the use of a pardon can never form the basis of impeachable and/or criminal conduct.

But let's focus on the important stuff - I hear he wore a mask today! What a role model!

steve uhr said...

Michael K - Not moot. He remains a convicted felon and has the right to appeal his conviction.

Michael K said...

Had GWB shown anything close to the decency and political courage that Trump has shown here, in the case of Scooter Libby, I would still consider him worthy of the respect I once had for him.

Exactly. I have very little sympathy for Stone but this was a real railroad job.

It's amusing to see the shyster lawyers defend what was done. Weissmann should be disbarred but it's DC. Maybe he will stumble into a BLM riot and get shot.

The Gipper Lives said...

Excellent statement by the White House–except it should have been made by AG Barr a year ago. But Barr thought Stone's prosecution was "righteous".

Bill Barr has been Attorney General for a year and a half–and not one single coup-plotter has been charged, let alone convicted. If Roger Stone lied to Congress, it was over nothing. By contrast, Brennan, Clapper, Comey and McCabe lied to Congress through their pointy little rat-teeth about sedition. And obstructed justice. Where is their “righteous" prosecution, Bill?

Barr and his Silky Pony Durham haven’t lifted a finger to hold them accountable.

If Democrats aren’t held accountable for trying to overthrow the government with the FBI and CIA, they will do it again. In fact, they already tried with CIA mole Eric "Charmy" Ciaramella. And if they are going to attempt another coup, then they must be prevented from obtaining power BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. And there goes the whole thing.

If Barr and Durham are not part of the cover-up, they need to prove it tomorrow morning. Not next week, next month or next year. NOW. RIGHT NOW.

You're playing with fire.

The Gipper Lives said...

Bill and Hillary sold pardons.

readering said...

Drago, what are you on about?

walter said...

Do you want (silk) pajama boy loosed onto the streets?
That treatment is for repeat criminals due to WuFlu.

Martin said...

I might, and do, bemoan the rhetorical style, but as usual Trump is more correct on the facts than are his critics.

Stone is not the most savory of characters, but this was a railroad job for political reasons, pure and simple. It is a shame he does not have recourse against Mueller, Weissman (sp?), Schiff, and CNN, because in a just world they would owe him $millions.

Ray - SoCal said...

And Trump pardoned Libby.

>Had GWB shown anything close to the decency and political courage that Trump has shown here, in the case of Scooter Libby,

Mark Nielsen said...

Josephbleau says: "Romney is disgracing his faith and making people believe that Mormons are liars. I challenge Mormons to defend their faith and rebuke lying. Unless they approve of it."

I won't presume to speak for all members of the Church, but it's my opinion (based on anecdotal evidence and observation) that a majority of members are indeed very disappointed in Romney. Romney seems to be consumed by his hatred for Trump. While I was proud to vote for him in 2012, his behavior lately is not worthy of respect, and not a good example of his and my faith.

DeepRunner said...

Trump has been telegraphing F-O-R-E-V-E-R that he was going to do something about the Roger Stone conviction. So that's not a surprise. Nor is Mitt's pearl-clutching Twitter reaction.

I thought Harry Reid was a vengeful, grade-A a-hole. Mitt is just who he is. "Severely Liberal™" when running against Ted "Fat, Drunk, and Stupid" Kennedy, "Severely Conservative™" when running for President. Like every other Senator, he looks in the mirror and sees a President. We look at him and see a guy who wants applause, any applause from the media and Dems who stomped hard on him in 2012. Then again, he has the appeal of melted ice cream, so...

wendybar said...

Spare me the tears. Obama commuted the sentence of Traitor Bowe Bergdahl...AND pardoned Terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera. Until I see anybody from his administration frog walked out of their homes with Fox News there to capture it live....I don't care WHO Trump pardons!

Rusty said...

The question remains. If it weren't for his association with Trump would he have been indicted anyway? Survey says; probably not.

Equipment Maintenance said...

Roy Lofquist said: "This was the first shot. The Trump campaign is going to be God awful nasty. He's been stockpiling ammunition for four years now. There's going to be four months of nasty accusations of sedition, sexual misconduct, and aggravated mopery against all and sundry."

Let's hope so.

effinayright said...

steve uhr said...
Another day, another impeachable offense. He gave something of value to Stone in exchange for Stone not rolling on Trump. I believe the word is bribery. The fact that Trump has broad power to pardon does not mean that the use of a pardon can never form the basis of impeachable and/or criminal conduct.
************************************

Please tell us, specifically, how Stone protected Trump, and from what.

You're just bullshitting again.

Chuck said...

This White House statement, as recited by Althouse, was rebutted point-by-point in this column by Marshall Cohen at CNN. I so doing, Cohen effectively rebutted most of the foregoing comments.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/07/10/politics/fact-check-white-house-statement-roger-stone-commutation/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

Big Cat said...

Can't believe a Roger Stone -Randy Credico conversation could ever be worth a sentient beings time to worry about. Two fools talking do not make a crime. Off to buy Goya today.
e

Matt Sablan said...

I was of the opinion a year or so ago that if Flynn, Manafort and Stone had done something illegal, let the cards fall where they were.

But, after the last year or so? Sorry. No. Pardons all around if they get convicted after we've seen the difference in how they were handled compared to Clinton's team by the FBI.

Matt Sablan said...

Chuck, if you're going to quote an article, at least read it so the first bullet isn't nonsense. "The Russia investigation was not a hoax, and it did not originate from Democrats or the media. The investigation began in July 2016 after the FBI received a tip about potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. The FBI director at the time was James Comey, a Republican." The Russia investigation was a hoax. It was a hoax in its entirety, and we know this because in England, the guy who put together the dossier is in hot water, we now know that Clinton used a pass through to give money to Russian intelligence for "information," and we now know that James Comey was a dishonest hack who hid things from the President and stole government documents to leak to the press.

Also, if this is true: "Mueller said the investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." and we're going to use that to say, "Well, that doesn't PROVE there's no collusion," then, fine. But we also can't prove you didn't do X, I didn't do Y. It's a ridiculous standard parroted by ridiculous people who think they're sounding smart. A claim was made and went unproven doesn't mean you get to say, BUT IT STILL COULD BE TRUE. No. You failed to prove a claim; it is considered unproven. If you fail to prove a claim in almost any situation, it is treated as not true. If you want to change the standard for how we interact logically with the world, then everyone who is found Not Guilty gets sentenced anyway. This is utter stupidity and, honestly, you should be smarter than this.

"There is no proof whatsoever that Mueller's team brought charges because they were biased against Trump or had "malice" against his aides." Except for the fact we now know that Obama was told and everyone agreed that Flynn's phone call was legit; that Manafort was charged while other people who did what he did were given a chance to amend their statements; that Stone was cooperating with the FBI and raided, while Clinton's team refused to cooperate to the point of destroying evidence and given immunity.

I'm not even going to go through the rest of Cohen's piece, because it is lazy lies that are only true if you *stopped following the cases back in 2016.*

Matt Sablan said...

Note: I was of the same opinion as Cohen *when this all started* that maybe this was legitimate and worth investigating. Unlike Cohen, I bothered to *learn new things and adjust my opinion based on new facts* while not deciding to undermine the basic tenets of fairness and justice just to make sure to get someone who, I personally, dislike, out of office. And note: I do dislike Trump. He's not a good person; I would not want to have a coke with him. But *that doesn't mean he doesn't get the same benefit of the doubt and legal considerations as people I do like.* Because America is not a tyranny.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Oops looks like I pulled up another right wing psycosycophant blog..I'll move on no common sense here and these folks and author see through only one eye.trumpians like Manfred Mann blinded by the kighy..

Matt Sablan said...

"But having appointed the liar, he got the investigation, and folks aren't supposed to lie to Congress, hence the jury convicted Stone."

-- This is materially untrue as Holder and Clapper both suffered no consequences. If you want to enforce a set of rules *enforce it on everyone.*

Matt Sablan said...

"Had GWB shown anything close to the decency and political courage that Trump has shown here, in the case of Scooter Libby, I would still consider him worthy of the respect I once had for him."

-- Bush was operating under the mistaken notion Democrats were acting in good faith; Bush honestly believed Democrats thought Libby had lied, and that, technically, by being wrong, that was possible, so he gave them the benefit of the doubt. After, what, 10+ years, we now know that the Democrats only cared about hurting someone close to Bush.

Dude1394 said...

Chuck held out CNN as a reputable source for news. That’s funny.

Michael K said...

Chuck and steve Uhr , two bullshitters.

THis says it pretty well,

The unremitting, monolithic wall of noise that has been crashing against Donald Trump since election day 2016 has gotten louder and louder, more cacophonous, more furious, more irrational. Everything is what it is, and not another thing. But the one thing that takes precedence over everything now is defeating Trump, which means defeating not only Trump himself but what he stands for—those 63 million voters who put him in office, for starters.

And those 63 million will crawl over broken glass to vote for him over fecal deposits like you two.

Michael K said...

Bill Barr has been Attorney General for a year and a half–and not one single coup-plotter has been charged, let alone convicted. If Roger Stone lied to Congress, it was over nothing. By contrast, Brennan, Clapper, Comey and McCabe lied to Congress through their pointy little rat-teeth about sedition. And obstructed justice. Where is their “righteous" prosecution, Bill?

I'm starting to be concerned about this too. Is Trump the only honest man in DC?

AlbertAnonymous said...

Wow Chuck:

I read that Cohen piece you cited. It claims to “debunk” 12 statements in the withe house press release.

Total fucking propaganda garbage.

Trump say the was never any collusion, but the Mueller report didn’t find “there was never any collusion”.

Trump says the Left Created this Russian hoax, but the FBI started the investigation because of an anonymous tip, and the FBI was run by Comey, “a Republican”. And the DOJ was run by Sessions and after his recusal Rosenstein, “both Republicans”.

Trump says Mueller brought process charges to smear Trump because they’re biased, but “there’s no proof” Mueller is biased.

Trump says Mueller tipped off CNN so they could be there at the Stone arrest, but the Mueller team “produced documentation” that they didn’t tip off CNN (documentation that proves a negative? AYFKM?) and CNNs “own reporting” shows they weren’t tipped off, they just happened to be there. (Wow CNNs own reporting ? Ok you got me. Checkmate).

It goes on like that but it’s all BS. Talking points for the minions/trolls. It amounts to “Na Na Na shut up”

Mark O said...

Considering that Obama and Biden spied on the Trump campaign" that false and misleading FISA application were submitted by the FBI to push the Russia hoax; that when Mueller began the Weissmann Investigation they knew there was no Russia collusion; and that the arrest and prosecution of Stone could not have more closely followed the Soviet method, Stone should never have been charged, prosecuted, or convicted.

The Russia hoax produced the greatest political and legal scandal in American history.

Original Mike said...

"Please tell us, specifically, how Stone protected Trump, and from what."

Russia! wholelottasplainin'. Stone is THE key to exposing Trump's collusion with Russia!

Right, steve?

Required field must not be blank said...

Blogger Michael K said...

Either you have not read anything about this case or you are a hard lefty. I am assuming you and Inga are about the same level of intellect.

7/11/20, 3:44 PM"

The problem here is not lack of information or intellect, nor is 'lefty' a valid political position anymore[1] --- posts like Inga's and other such people are just an outlet for malicious narcissist delight in gaslighting and mayhem.

Of course they know they are wrong and annoying --- they just hate this world and everyone and everything in it.

(I have yet to see any of those people contribute something interesting or say anything that would persuade anyone. Can be safely ignore, they have no message.)

[1] There is no 'left' anymore. There's a few remnants of decent people who mean well but are part of a dead ideology. The 'Left' has been taken over and gutted by totalitarians who have no other ideology than to oppress and fleece people. This is also true for Europe. Don't call them 'left' because that diminishes the memory of the many lefties in history who were good folks, but who would be burnt at the stake by the current Jacobians.

Michael K said...

The problem here is not lack of information or intellect, nor is 'lefty' a valid political position anymore[1] --- posts like Inga's and other such people are just an outlet for malicious narcissist delight in gaslighting and mayhem.

I thought it was interesting that the guy's profile says he is an astronomer. Why obsess on Trump hate ? Astronomy sounds a lot more interesting. If he had contributed something worthwhile, maybe.

cronus titan said...

It is no obvious that Mueller and his merry band of thugs resurrected investigations of Flynn and Stone in a belief they could take down the President. When they had nothing much to offer, Mueller and his thugs were enraged and did everything they could to extort something out of them. Still, they got nothing because nothing was there. So Stone and Flynn were made examples. Judges Sullivan and Jackson were also enraged -- they fancied themselves going down in history like Judge Sirica. Didn't work out.

rcocean said...

CNN is shit. They are an unpaid arm (maybe) of the Democrat Party. I believe ZERO what "Jeff Zucker News" says about anything especially Trump. They should stick to what they do best, doxxing people on the internet who post funny memes.

steve uhr said...

Original Mike

Why did Stone lie under oath multiple times under oath if he didn't have anything to hide?

He communicated in 2016 with individuals to be Russian intelligence officers, and he claimed advance knowledge of WikiLeaks’ release of emails stolen by those Russian intelligence officers.

He lied about his intermediary to WikiLeaks. He lied about the existence of written communications with his intermediary. He falsely denied he had repeatedly communicated with the Trump campaign about the timing of WikiLeaks’ releases. And he tampered with a witness.

Seven felony convictions by unanimous jury, zero time served.

Note - above largely plagiarized from Mueller's recent op-ed in Washington Post. Is any of it wrong? How so?

hstad said...


Blogger Inga said...
At this point, who can realistically expect anything even remotely presidential to come out of the Trump White House? 7/11/20, 2:59 PM

So President Trump pardons Stone, like every President since our founding, that's not Presidential for Inga. Really? You don't have to agree about the pardon but at least use your limited intellect, infected by your silly politics, to acknowledge that any President has constitutional power to pardon anyone as such he's acting "presidential" - whether you like it our not.

Inga you really need to reflect on your life, politics has killed any common sense or appreciation of our great country and system.

Jim at said...

#2020 Blue Tsunami

You said the same, stupid shit in 2018. And when the dust settled, you LOST Senate seats and underperformed in the House in comparison to 1994 and 2010.

steve uhr said...

Required Field - so of course I know that’s I am wrong. Are you so insecure that you can’t handle the possibility that those who disagree with you REALLY do disagree with you. I have no problem admitting that you really believe your odious views.

Jim at said...

Obama commuted the sentence of Traitor Bowe Bergdahl.

Commuted? The asshole traded five, hardened terrorists for the deserter.

Drago said...

Matt Sablan: "Chuck, if you're going to quote an article, at least read it so the first bullet isn't nonsense. "The Russia investigation was not a hoax, and it did not originate from Democrats or the media. The investigation began in July 2016 after the FBI received a tip about potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. The FBI director at the time was James Comey, a Republican." The Russia investigation was a hoax. It was a hoax in its entirety, and we know this because in England, the guy who put together the dossier is in hot water, we now know that Clinton used a pass through to give money to Russian intelligence for "information," and we now know that James Comey was a dishonest hack who hid things from the President and stole government documents to leak to the press."

As I mentioned a few days back, we have seen a wholesale "reset" amongst the far left/marxist/dems like LLR-lefty Chuck and Inga and ARM and Howard et al where they simply pretend its still 2017 and we haven't learned a single thing about the origins of this biggest political scandal and abuse of power in our nations history.

A scandal where an outgoing administration used the full power of the State and its law enforcement and intelligence agencies to frame an opposition political opponent, then a President-Elect, then a sitting President in an attempt to sabotage the incoming administration and remove the duly elected President.

As predicted, the ramifications of this are so huge the fear all along has been that Bill Barr would be afraid to hold those accountable due to the permanent damage it would do to institutions that he loves and is trying to save....and its possible that in trying to save the institutions (for now since the jig is up and its only going to get worse) Barr will merely be treading water until a future democrat/LLR-leffy/marxist administration completes the "fundamental transformation" of the institutions into permanent weapons of the democrats.

Roger Stone is just a pawn in that lefty/LLR-lefty/marxist game.

Drago said...

steve uhr: "Seven felony convictions by unanimous jury,...."

What we are seeing now are democrat prosecutors targeting political opponents in front of democrat judges and 100% democrat partisan juries and hiding exculpatory evidence and manufacturing evidence and the dem judges and juries going along with it.

It's literally no different than what the dems did in the South to railroad black defendents from the 1800's through to the 1960's.

steve uhr said...

Drago. It’s sad that you think one’s political beliefs determine everything one does. Can you even acknowledge the possibility that some of the jurors in the Stone case listened to the evidence , followed the court’s instructions and reached a decision devoid of political bias. Not everyone is like you in that everything they say do or think is determined by their political beliefs. And some people rarely think of politics at all and just want to pursue happiness, and don’t know or care what their friends political beliefs are. I imagine you give everyone a written survey before saying “Hi”. Sad

Michael K said...

teve uhr said...
Original Mike

Why did Stone lie under oath multiple times under oath if he didn't have anything to hide?


steve, try to understand. Stone is a clown. He was not "an advisor." He is a hanger on. He lied to make himself seem important. He did not know anything. He would have been treated as a fool except for the blinding hatred you people have for Trump. Trump did not pardon him, partly because his appeal is still pending and partly because he doesn't deserve it. He was so stupid he did not realize the trouble he was in.

Clinton pardoned donors and terrorists. So did Obama including traitors like Bergdahl.

Required field must not be blank said...

"Blogger Michael K said...

I thought it was interesting that the guy's profile says he is an astronomer. Why obsess on Trump hate ? Astronomy sounds a lot more interesting. If he had contributed something worthwhile, maybe."

Maybe he is, maybe he isn't an astronomer, that's in the stars :-)

If it wasn't Trump, there would be something else they'd hate, it's a personality issue, someone like that isn't magically going to fix themselves if the target is removed. He's not contributing, he's hate spamming, and that won't stop, he's an angry person and if you take one victim away, he'll find the next because he needs an outlet for the anger he carries. Also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOwFVowEugQ

Just leave them be, ignore them, they have nothing. Look up narcissist personality disorder... it seems to be rampant nowadays. This is why we do not seem to be able to reach these people with reasoning and why they have those rages and suffer so much from general irrationality and cognitive dissonance.

Michael K said...

Just leave them be, ignore them, they have nothing.

I know. Good advice. I do think Trump has triggered a lot of hate and it is interesting to wonder why. I never liked him and was astonished when he won in 2016. I was kind of prepared for the Bush 2000 routine. That was bad enough. I think it drove Gore crazy. I was kind of neutral in 2000. Some friends who were big Bush supporters got mad at me. I didn't care. I thought Bush was a light weight and his father was worse. I was ready to vote for Perot until he has his meltdown over his daughters wedding. He was right about NAFTA. People forget that. Stockdale was the most honorable man ever to run for VP. Including Teddy Roosevelt.

Rick said...

steve uhr said...
It’s sad that you think one’s political beliefs determine everything one does.


This belief could be summarized as "the personal is political". Isn't it interesting to note leftists routinely criticize this mindset but literally never when exhibited by other leftists even though it has been an explicit tenet of the left since at least the 60s.


Sometimes it seems left wing criticism is entirely driven by their insane partisanship.

Gk1 said...

"Mueller is zero for, 30? In his prosecutions?"

Good point. What did 32 million dollars for the Mueller probe get the country when it came to prosecuting those that colluded with Russia? That was the whole point, right? That was one expensive "insurance policy" wasn't it? And Trump is still our president. Christ, can the swamp do anything right?

Drago said...

steve uhr: "Drago. It’s sad that you think one’s political beliefs determine everything one does."

The "Everything within the State. Nothing outside the State" crew has something to say.....

Rick said...

The Russia investigation was not a hoax, and it did not originate from Democrats or the media. The investigation began in July 2016 after the FBI received a tip about potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government


Note the passive voice trying to hide the facts. This supposed tip was of a guy telling a funny story in a bar. In a reasonable world that would have been the end of the story. Instead one anti-Trump deep stater reported it to another. When the FBI spoke to the original story teller to confirm the "tip" he told them it was just bar talk. This should have precluded an investigation, and the fact that it did not suggests both the tipper and the tipee understood the story was just a pretext.

So the FBI substituted the Steele "dossier" paid for by the Clinton campaign and based on Russian disinformation propaganda. Most of the allegations were immediately proven false and none could be verified. In fact the FBI treated Steele as the source to hide the fact that they never spoke to any actual sources suggesting they knew doing so would damage their case. This was true since identifying the sources acknowledge them as Russian intelligence operatives. But for purely partisan reasons the FBI hid the sources failure and lied to the FISA courts about the nature of their evidence. Then they leaked this to their press allies for the final step in their propaganda campaign.

Michael K said...

Not everyone is like you in that everything they say do or think is determined by their political beliefs.

On the Democrat side I cannot think of anyone.

Try to be objective. I know that is hard. Try to put your TDS aside. Stone is a clown. It is not necessary that you people impose capital punishment on everyone who votes for Trump.

Ray - SoCal said...

Did the investigation really start then?
>a tip about potential

And the tip was from a Hillary Crony.

And the Steele Dossier was used to justify the investigation, and the FISA Warrants.

And Dear Old General Flynn, how was that related to the bar talk? Logan Act? Hmm...

And how did that "Bar Talk" just happen. Entrapment?

Same as the $10K that Papadopoulos was given, and luckily was smart enough to leave in Greece, the FBI HAPPENED to be looking for when he got to the US? What a coincidence?

It seems several different domestic and foreign agencies were targeting the Trump campaign. Including several spies that were placed in the Trump campaign.

Was there predication for what was done to spy on Trump? If not, sounds like a Conspiracy. Hopefully Durham will release his findings before the election.

And where is Weiner's laptop?

stan said...

The Russia collusion narrative was a hoax. Proven fact.

Stone was a victim of a special counsel office motivated by extreme hatred and malice. An office which was an ethical nightmare and likely the most unethical group of government lawyers in our lifetime. Demonstrated. Repeatedly.

So why shouldn't Trump speak truth? The Democrats have lied so often, so egregiously, so nastily, for so long that to do anything else would deny Stone full justice.