Trump tweets for case against Roger Stone to be thrown out

By Ashraf Khalil The Associated Press

4 years ago

In a Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Roger Stone arrives at Federal Court for the second day of jury ... — In a Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Roger Stone arrives at Federal Court for the second day of jury selection for his federal trial, in Washington. The Justice Department said Tuesday it will take the extraordinary step of lowering the amount of prison time it will seek for Roger Stone, an announcement that came just hours after President Donald Trump complained that the recommended sentence for his longtime ally and confidant was “very horrible and unfair.” (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

In a Nov. 12, 2019, file photo, Roger Stone, a longtime Republican provocateur and former confidant of President Donald Trump, waits in line at the federal court in Washington. A Justice Department official tells the AP that the agency is backing away from its sentencing recommendation of between seven to nine years in prison for Trump confidant Roger Stone. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

In a Nov. 7, 2019, file photo, Roger Stone arrives at Federal Court for his federal trial in Washington. The Justice Department said Tuesday it will take the extraordinary step of lowering the amount of prison time it will seek for Roger Stone, an announcement that came just hours after President Donald Trump complained that the recommended sentence for his longtime ally and confidant was “very horrible and unfair.” (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

In a Feb. 1, 2019, file photo, former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone, leaves federal court in Washington. The Justice Department said Tuesday it will take the extraordinary step of lowering the amount of prison time it will seek for Roger Stone, an announcement that came just hours after President Donald Trump complained that the recommended sentence for his longtime ally and confidant was “very horrible and unfair.” (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON — Hours before a court session regarding his longtime ally Roger Stone, President Donald Trump is tweeting that Stone’s recent conviction for witness tampering and lying to Congress “should be thrown out.”

The barrage of Tuesday morning tweets comes days after Trump earned a public rebuke from his own attorney general, William Barr, who had said the president’s tweets were “making it impossible” for Barr to do his job.

“Judge Jackson now has a request for a new trial based on the unambiguous & self outed bias of the foreperson of the jury, whose also a lawyer, by the way. ‘Madam foreperson, you’re a lawyer, you have a duty, an affirmative obligation, to reveal to us when we selected you the….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2020

Trump tweeted Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano’s comment that the jury appears to have been biased against Trump and calling out Judge Amy Berman Jackson by name, saying “almost any judge in the country” would throw out the conviction.

Trump added in a subsequent tweet. “Everything having to do with this fraudulent investigation is badly tainted and, in my opinion, should be thrown out.”

Stone was convicted in November of a seven-count indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Jackson on Thursday with a logistical hearing planned for today.

Barr reversed sentencing decision

Prosecutors had recommended a tough sentence of between seven to nine years in federal prison. But Barr reversed that decision and recommended a less harsh punishment, prompting the entire prosecution team to resign from the case.

Barr later denied that Trump’s Twitter denunciation of the sentencing recommendation had influenced his decision; in an interview with ABC News, Barr said he had not been asked by Trump to look into the case.