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Donald Trump Signs Order Commuting Ex-Aide Roger Stone's 'Unjust' Sentence - White House

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 10 Jul 2020

Donald Trump Signs Order Commuting Ex-Aide Roger Stone's 'Unjust' Sentence - White House

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Washington/Sputnik: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order commuting his former adviser Roger Stone's sentence, the White House said in a statement.

"Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting the unjust sentence of Roger Stone, Jr.," the statement said on Friday.

Stone is one of six Trump associates who were convicted following Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. He was sentenced to 40 months in jail for obstructing the probe. Stone was supposed to report to jail by July 14.

The White House said Stone is a victim of the Russia investigation and efforts by the Democrats to undermine the Trump presidency.

The statement emphasized that Stone had no charges for any collusion-related crime, he was convicted for his conduct during the probe. However, the White House said Stone would not be facing time in prison if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing a "baseless investigation."

The White House statement accused the Mueller team of humiliating Stone, even in the way they arrested him.

"Mr. Stone is a 67-year-old man, with numerous medical conditions, who had never been convicted of another crime. But rather than allow him to surrender himself, they used dozens of FBI agents with automatic weapons and tactical equipment, armored vehicles, and an amphibious unit to execute a pre-dawn raid of his home, where he was with his wife of many years. Notably, CNN cameras were present to broadcast these events live to the world, even though they swore they were not notified - it was just a coincidence that they were there together with the FBI early in the morning," the statement said.

The White House said Stone's health would be put at serious risk in prison and that he deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts.

A federal judge ordered Stone to report to prison by July 14. Stone served as a liaison between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and the online platform WikiLeaks, which published stolen emails of internal discussions within rival candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign.