July 10, 2020

"President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. on seven felony crimes on Friday..."

"... according to the White House, using the power of his office to help a former campaign adviser days before Mr. Stone was to report to a federal prison to serve a 40-month term. Mr. Stone, 67, a longtime Republican operative convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation into Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, has been openly lobbying for clemency, maintaining that he could die in prison and emphasizing that he had stayed loyal to the president rather than help investigators. 'He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him,' Mr. Stone told the journalist Howard Fineman on Friday before the announcement. 'It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.' Mr. Trump has long argued that Mr. Stone was persecuted and lashed out at the prosecutors, the judge and even the jury forewoman in his case. The real villains, he argued, were former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., whom he has falsely accused of spying on his campaign, as well as the people who investigated his associates, including the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey."

The NYT reports.

47 comments:

I'm Full of Soup said...

Good

Michael W. Towns, Sr. said...

"falsely accused"

Um, it's pretty much an established fact that the Obama Administration spied on Trump.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

but but but... they arrested the guy with CNN there. come on - CNN was there! with the FBI... he must rot in prison forever.

What did he Stone again? Anything worse than lining your son's pockets with Tax Payer dollars washed clean thru a Ukrainian energy company?

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Definition of report (Entry 1 of 2)
1a: common talk or an account spread by common talk : RUMOR
b: quality of reputation
a witness of good report
2a: a usually detailed account or statement
a news report
b: an account or statement of a judicial opinion or decision
c: a usually formal record of the proceedings of a meeting or session
3: an explosive noise"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/report

I don't always agree with Althouse our host here, but I will agree this is what whas reported.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Roger & Me. lania

Leora said...

He obstructed the FBI in their witch hunt and tampered with a witness. He really did tamper with a witness with text messages. I think the commutation is appropriate and the FBI folks who decided to interrogate him because he tweeted about Wikileaks having Hilary's emails should all be fired.

Sebastian said...

"The real villains, he argued, were former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., whom he has falsely accused of spying on his campaign"

"falsely"?

Worse, they spied on his transition and then set up the collusion hoax to go after Trump in office.

Did the NYT read Strzok's notes?

The Vault Dweller said...

Hmmm... so what will the media cover, this pardon or the new Jihad against the CEO of Goya?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The real villains, he argued, were former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., whom he has falsely accused of spying on his campaign, as well as the people who investigated his associates, including the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey."

The NYT reports without evidence.

Michael K said...

Stone was a fool but the judge and the jury forewoman showed it was a fix.

tim maguire said...

Tough call. He was guilty, but he was targeted not for his crimes but for being a Trump associate. Commutation, but no pardon, is probably the right outcome.

Iman said...

whom he has falsely accused of spying on his campaign

The fucking NYT is as dishonest as newspapers come. Unbelievable!

Carol said...

Well, good. I don't know how useful Roger Stone was, but it seemed like they went after everyone who helped Trump,on stupid process crimes..they are just so pissed off, that Trump put this ragtag team together and somehow ran a brilliant campaign, and beat their beloved Hillary. Or their mealticket at least.

They'll never get over it. Or acknowledge it.

Drago said...

Michael W. Towns, Sr.: '"falsely accused"

Um, it's pretty much an established fact that the Obama Administration spied on Trump."

The entire left/LLR-left has reverted to January of 2017 mode and pretends we dont know what we have learned conclusively over the past 3.5 years.

Our very own Inga/victoria/r/v/Howard/gadfly/LLR/ARM etc now openly pretend that the Mueller investigation never occurred and that if we only had some sort of investigation NOW we would get the to bottom of the collusion!

The lies even became too much for NeverTrumper Colin Powell who took MSNBC to task just yesterday over the Trump Ignores Russian Bounties hoax.

roesch/voltaire said...

Lying is a trait admired by Trump, no wondered he pardoned Stone.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Falsely accused them of something of which there is little doubt. Are they lying? Or are they so completely isolated that they truly believe these things? I don’t rule out the latter. I was listening to an NPR podcast about Felix Frankfurter the other day. Clearly, the young person doing it couldn’t even conceptualize that distrust of big government might be a liberal value.

rcocean said...

Glad to hear it. The conviction was done with a partisan Democrat jury forewoman who bragged on social media how much she hated Trump and all his associates. Stone did a process crime during the investigation of a Hoax. Did the NYT quote from the acutal commutation document? I doubt it, because its a fiery, truthful denunciation of the whole sordid Mueller-Russia-Hoax.

BTW, I found it outrageous that the Left-wing Democrat judge was ordering 67 y/o stone back to prison when Democrat Governors are letting violent criminals out of jail because of CV-19.

Guildofcannonballs said...

The Black Hockey League whooped the fuck outta the 1980 "American team" but racists won so we only beat the Soviets by a goal.

Fuck the Finns.

rcocean said...

People need to remember that Biden was up to his neck in the illegal spying of the Trump campaign and the unfair, illegal prosecution of General Flynn.

Skeptical Voter said...

Yup--Stone was foolish and ran his mouth; but you shouldn't have to go to jail just for that. If those bozos in CHOP or CHAZ can walk, Stone ought to be able to walk and hand him two free meals at Ruth Chris steakhouse.

sykes.1 said...

A corrupt prosecutor, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt jury foreman, a kangaroo court—good pardon.

The federal courts from SCOTUS on down, the DOJ, the FBI, the military, and the CIA are corrupt and treasonous. A complete purge of the entire federal bureaucracy is mandatory.

Vindeman quit, so one traitor is gone, but he had the support of our utterly corrupt miltary, a miltary that is in open revolt against civilian and presidential authority.

Michael said...

Falsely? What purpose is served by the inclusion of that word? "...has accused" is accurate, while "...has falsely accused" is editorializing (at best). The NYT is hopeless.

Roy Lofquist said...

"Shit just got real" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvqJ1mTkEuY

Trump just chose the battlefield and fired the first salvo in the war of 2020.

Mike Sylwester said...

Robert "The FBI Whitewasher" Mueller and his gang of Trump-hating lawyers tried for years to arrange charges that President Trump was obstructing justice. Those charges would provide the basis for Congress to impeach and then remove Trump from his elected office.

Mueller and his gang organized a huge, early-morning, televised invasion of Roger Stone's home in order to provoke President into a reaction that could be charged as obstruction of justice.

Michael K said...

oesch/voltaire said...
Lying is a trait admired by Trump, no wondered he pardoned Stone.


He eats liars for lunch You had better watch out.

Not Sure said...

Dear Nancy,

Presidents will do what they do.

Hugs,

Donald

Joe Smith said...

He probably really was guilty, but Brennan and Clapper lied their asses off and didn't get SWATTED at 4am.

Start arresting deep state democrats and I might change my mind.

chuck said...

The fucking NYT is as dishonest as newspapers come.

Is it lying if you believe it? I think they are bubble wrapped.

Birkel said...

... typed roesch/voltaire while telling an easily identifiable falsehood.

I hope Antifa comes for you.

Dude1394 said...

Well done mr president. Watching the travesty of justice Gen Flynnhas been going thorough shows that the country is corrupt.

Ray - SoCal said...

Commuted so Stone can still fight this.

I wonder if this ends the gag order on Stone?

Still no word on whom tipped off CNN to the raid on Stone.

Krumhorn said...

Just fallout from the Russia hoax. Sooner or later, Flynn will also get out from under.

- Krumhorn

The Godfather said...

Glad Trump sprung Stone. Hope Stone stays out of the current Presidential election.

JAORE said...

"The NY Times reports"

Nope. No they don't.

Michael The Magnificent said...

Well, we can't have a Pardon-gate, since we already had one when Hillary's brother was selling pardons while Bill was president.

n.n said...

NYT editorializing their JournoLism.

Obama spied, Clinton colluded, Biden obstructed, and the NYT et al conducted warlock judgments (e.g. trial by press) and stoked diversity.

Dave Begley said...

The way I recall it the jury forewoman lied on her questionnaire and she was a rabid partisan. That’s grounds for a mistrial.

Unknown said...

Falsely accused? Really? There is absolute proof that the Obama Administration spied on Donald Trump and his associates.

Readering said...

Could Trump find a less sympathetic criminal to intervene on behalf of?

Michael said...

RV
But you can keep your doctor.

gadfly said...

Bill Kristol in The Bulwark:

Stone freed, and Vindman bullied. That is Donald Trump’s America, where

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.

And yet. To return to Macbeth, “we still have judgment here.”

The people will make a judgment on November 3.

Clyde said...

If it's making the media and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) squeal, it must be a good thing. Politicized prosecutions/persecutions of this sort should be stopped dead in their tracks. Hopefully that asshole judge who is persecuting General Flynn gets his comeuppance next.

sunsong said...

pure corruption

Sam L. said...

I despise, detest, and distrust the NYT. The WaPoo, too!

Bruce Hayden said...

“ Stone freed, and Vindman bullied. That is Donald Trump’s America, ...”

Vindman is a lying POS, who violated his oath in order to get his Commander in Chief impeached and removed from office. The Dems were trying to force his promotion anyway, for political reasons, by denying promotion to the many much more deserving officers. If he had gotten the promotion, he would have effectively denied promotion (and thus continued service) to some other, more deserving, LT Col.

mikee said...

An impeachment trial on the basis of the Stone and Cohen prosecutions being vitiated corruptly by Trump would be very interesting, especially the deposition of witnesses, including Schiff.

stan said...

To read the NYTimes requires that you believe more lies before breakfast than Alice’s queen.