- President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of the former Republican strategist Roger Stone, a senior administration official confirmed to Politico.
- The president's move came after he and his allies complained for months that Stone and others were mistreated by prosecutors as part of the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
- A jury convicted Stone of seven felony counts last year: five counts of making false statements to the FBI and congressional investigators, one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice.
- Earlier this year, a federal judge sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison for his crimes, as well as a $20,000 fine, four years of probation after his prison term, and 250 hours of community service.
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President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of the longtime former Republican strategist Roger Stone late Friday, a senior administration official told Politico. Two senior administration officials also confirmed the news to Axios.
The president's move came after he and his allies complained for months that Stone and others were mistreated by prosecutors as part of the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election.
A jury convicted Stone of seven felony counts in November: five counts of making false statements to the FBI and congressional investigators, one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice.
Earlier this year, a federal judge sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison for his crimes, as well as a $20,000 fine, four years of probation after his prison term, and 250 hours of community service.
Trump repeatedly implied that he would show leniency to the former strategist before ultimately deciding to commute his sentence.
In an interview with the talk radio host Howie Carr earlier this week, Trump complained about Stone's alleged mistreatment by prosecutors, saying he was "framed" and "treated horrible." He also praised Stone's character, saying the former strategist and self-described dirty trickster was a "good person."
"He was treated so badly," the president added. When Carr told Trump that Stone was "praying" for a pardon before having to report to prison on July 14, Trump answered, "If you say he's praying, his prayer may be answered. Let's see what happens."
The charges against Stone were linked to his contacts with the radical pro-transparency group WikiLeaks and subsequent efforts to suppress witness testimony.
Stone's indictment from the former special counsel Robert Mueller's office contained a slew of details about his false statements to Congress about interactions involving WikiLeaks; his extensive communications with the far-right commentator Jerome Corsi and the radio host Randy Credico about WikiLeaks' document dumps in summer 2016; and his prolonged efforts to prevent Credico from testifying to Congress or turning over information to the FBI.
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