President Trump has granted clemency to Roger Stone.
The Press Secretary released a statement which read, in part:
"Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting the unjust sentence of Roger Stone, Jr. 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. There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia". It went on to say, "Mr. Stone was charged by the same prosecutors from the Mueller Investigation tasked with finding evidence of collusion with Russia. Because no such evidence exists, however, they could not charge him for any collusion-related crime. Instead, they charged him for his conduct during their investigation. 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".
The statement ended with, "Mr. Stone would be put at serious medical risk in prison. He has appealed his conviction and is seeking a new trial. He maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system. Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts. 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!"
Roger Stone was sentenced in February to more than three years in prison after being convicted in November 2019 on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering, and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from Robert Mueller’s investigation. Stone continues to deny any wrongdoing. He was set to report to prison on July 14 to serve 40 months.
Trump, for weeks, has signaled he could be open to commuting Stone's sentence. Last Month President Trump tweeted a response to a Charlie Kirk tweet: "No. Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!”
Stone said, during an exclusive interview with Fox News this week, he was “praying” for Trump to intervene. When asked whether he’d prefer a pardon or a commutation of his sentence, Stone said “either one obviously would have an effect, in my opinion, of saving my life.”
A presidential pardon completely absolves an individual of the crime he or she is found to have committed. A commutation lessens the punishment or eliminates jail time, but leaves the conviction standing.
Stone said, “I have deep concerns about going to a prison where there absolutely is COVID virus, and, therefore, either one would have an effect of saving my life". he added, “If I should be fortunate enough to get a commutation, I would continue to fight for vindication. I think I’ll be the last person to know,” He continued, “he hates leaks, and he hates to be told what to do. I have instructed my lawyers not to contact the lawyers at the White House.”
Stone went on to say, “The President, who I’ve known for 40 years, has an incredible sense of fairness. He is aware that the people trying to destroy Michael Flynn, now trying to destroy me, are the people trying to destroy him. I certainly think it could happen. I’m not going to second-guess the President.”
Trump was asked by Sean Hannity on Fox News yesterday whether or not he was considering a pardon or commutation, the President replied, “I am always thinking. You'll be watching like everyone else in this case".
The President was on Howie Carr's radio show on Thursday and said, "He was framed. He was treated horrible. He was treated so badly". Carr mentioned to the President that Roger Stone was praying for the President to intervene. The President responded, “Well if you say he’s praying, his prayer may be answered. Let’s find out what happened”. President Trump spoke to reporters Friday morning prior to leaving for Miami and said he would be "looking at" Stone's case.
Stone was convicted in November 2019 of making false statements, obstructing an official proceeding, and witness tampering in a case related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. When asked whether Stone felt WikiLeaks influenced the 2016 election, he said: “Yes. All of it.” When asked whether Stone had any regrets over his involvement in 2016, he said no. “I engaged in legitimate, perfectly legal political activity which Mueller’s corrupt investigation chose to criminalize,” Stone said. “I thought the results of the 2016 election were crucial.”
After the announcement from the Press Secretary, the President Trump retweeted a tweet from Shannon Bream from Fox News, which read "BREAKING: POTUS commutes Roger Stone's sentence. From WH: "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!"
Host Joe Pags was granted an exclusive interview with Stone, where he spoke about what his plans are moving forward.
