In November last year, Roger Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, hindering justice and affecting witnesses. In February, the prison sentence was set at just over three years and next week Stone was supposed to be locked up.
The president's rescission does not mean that the verdict against Stone disappears, which was a pardon.
“Roger Stone has already suffered a lot. He was treated very unfairly, like many others in this investigation. Roger Stone is now a free man, ”the statement from the White House states.
"Act of Mercy"Stone's attorney Grant Smith said in a statement that his client was "incredibly honored that President Trump used his amazing and unique power under the United States Constitution for this act of mercy."
This is not the first time Trump's government intervenes to help Stone. When prosecutors in the case pleaded to prison for seven to nine years, the country's Justice Minister William Barr intervened, saying it was unreasonable. The four prosecutors who handled the case filed it in protest, and a newly appointed prosecutor instead recommended a prison sentence of three to four years for Stone.
"Two legal systems"The criticism of Trump's recent decision has not waited.
"With Trump, we now have two legal systems in the United States: one for Trump's criminal friends and one for everyone else," said Democrat Adam Schiff, who had a prominent role in the judicial process against the president.
Democrat leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, calls Trump "a lawless president who views the Justice Department as his personal playhouse."
Stone was prosecuted in the context of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation of suspected cooperation between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the 2016 US presidential campaign.