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Trump hails reversal of tough sentencing for former adviser
WASHINGTON, Feb 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump praised his
attorney general Wednesday for intervening to seek a lighter prison sentence
for a former Trump adviser convicted as part of the Russia probe.
The action Tuesday of the Justice Department under Bill Barr in the case of
Roger Stone brought new accusations of abuse of power by Trump the week after
he was acquitted in his impeachment trial over the Ukraine scandal.
Stone, a veteran Republican activist who advised Trump during the 2016
presidential campaign, was convicted in November last year of lying to
Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation
into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to cheat in that
election.
Four government attorneys who prosecuted Stone resigned from the case
Tuesday after their original sentence proposal of seven to nine years for
Stone was reversed by the Justice Department following a critical late-night
tweet from Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump insisted Barr had done the right thing.
“Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case
that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been
brought,” Trump tweeted.
He said a sentence of nine years would be unfair and asked if that original
recommendation came from “rogue prosecutors, maybe?”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1837 hrs