DNY59/iStock(WASHINGTON) — Roger Stone, the longtime friend and former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, is being sentenced Thursday morning at federal court in Washington amid speculation that Trump could pardon him depending on what happens.His fate took on new significance last week when the career prosecutors who handled the case recommended a sentence of seven to nine years for Stone, who was convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering in November.After Trump tweeted that recommendation was a “miscarriage of justice,” Attorney General William Barr overruled the prosecutors, and the Justice Department called on Judge Amy Berman Jackson to give Stone a much lighter sentence. Shortly after, in an exclusive interview with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas, Barr warned Trump to stop tweeting and commenting on the case, saying he was making it “impossible” to do his job. Sources have told ABC News that Barr, who called the Stone prosecution “righteous,” is seriously considering resigning.Stone was convicted of misleading congressional investigators on several key elements of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including communications he had with the Trump campaign about discussions he had about the WikiLeaks dissemination of damaging documents stolen from Democrats during the campaign.Here is how the story is unfolding. Please refresh for updates.
8:45 a.m. Stone arrives amid protests outside courthouseStone arrived with his wife, lawyers and entourage at the federal courthouse. Known for his sometimes flashy attire, he wore a fedora and sunglasses, smiled but said nothing.Protesters held up a large banner that said “#PardonRogerStone.”Overnight, despite Barr’s warning not to comment on the case, President Trump at about 2 a.m. tweeted a clip of Fox News host Tucker Carlson calling the Stone case a “shocking insult to the American tradition of equal justice.” Trump pinned the tweet on his feed.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
