President Trump has sparked outrage after commuting the sentence of his “loyal” ex-adviser Roger Stone, who had been found guilty of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
67-year-old Stone, who was the sixth of Trump’s aides to have been found guilty as a result of a non-partisan Justice Department probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, was set to start a 40-month prison term after a court denied his own request to delay the start of the sentence.
In a statement attempting to explain the controversial decision, a White House spokesman said:
"Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency."
"Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!"
The statement also went on to assert that Stone was only charged by special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation after failing to prove the “fantasy” that the Trump campaign. There is little to no actual evidence to support the White House’s claims, while Stone’s misconduct has been proven in a United States district court.
Trump’s decision has been almost universally condemned by critics, many of whom have claimed that the commutation amounts to nothing more than a personal favour to a friend that makes a mockery of American justice. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff declared:
"With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else."
A self-described political “dirty trickster”, Roger Stone forged his controversial political career working for disgraced ex-President Richard Nixon. Stone’s devotion to his former employer is notorious, so much so that he even has an extensive back tattoo featuring Nixon’s face. According to the 2017 documentary “Get Me Roger Stone”, it was partly due to Stone’s encouragement that Trump decided to make a run for the White House in 2016.
Yesterday, Michael D. Cohen, Donald Trump's former lawyer, was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion and lying to Congress. This is terrible news for the president, who is no doubt panicking about all the dirt his former employee has on him, but an excellent result for anyone who enjoys a good joke at a crooked lawyer's expense.
As soon as the sentence was announced, Twitter users set to work dragging up all of Cohen's previous statements in order to demonstrate his extreme hypocrisy - including things he once said about Hillary Clinton.
After that, the jokes pretty much wrote themselves...
According to the New York Times, Judge William H. Pauley III, who presided over the case, described Cohen’s crimes as a "veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct" and added that "Each of the crimes involved deception and each appears to have been motivated by personal greed and ambition."
Amongst other things, Cohen was found to have lied about making payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal: two adult film stars that Trump had affairs with, and about the Trump Organisation's meetings and negotiations with Russia during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
Right before he was sentenced, Cohen accepted accountability for his crimes, and directly referenced the president as the reason why he committed so many illegal acts.
"I blame myself for the conduct which has brought me here today," he said, "and it was my own weakness and a blind loyalty to [President Donald Trump] that led me to choose a path of darkness over light."
Cohen then apologised to the public, saying: "You deserve to know the truth and lying to you was unjust."
Even so, Rudy Giuliani, another of Trump's lawyers, said that Cohen's claim that he was acting out of "blind loyalty" was "a complete lie", and that it was inaccurate to link the president to any of this.
However, this is difficult to believe considering that Trump initially denied any sort of hush money payment to women he'd had extramarital affairs with, but later changed his story to say that "a simple private transaction" had been made - but it was nothing to do with campaign finances.
For now, then, it seems that Donald Trump has managed to swerve any direct consequences from Cohen's conviction, but his lawyer's criminal activity obviously does not look good for him. With so many accusations of collusion and illegal behaviour hanging over his head, this is yet another strike against his name.
On top of his three-year sentence, Cohen has also been ordered to pay just shy of $2 million in fines, forfeitures and restitution.
He will begin serving his prison sentence in March next year.
Donald Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, has made a surprise court appearance in New York, and pled guilty to lying to Congress about one of the president's real estate projects in Russia.
The 52-year-old attorney has previously pled guilty to violating election campaign finance laws in August, telling the court that he acted on Trump's orders. He also admitted to making false statements in 2017 to the US Senate Select Committee and told the court that he had paid hush money to two women alleging that they'd had affairs with Trump. It is unknown if he was referencing adult film star Stormy Daniells, who made similar assertions earlier this year.
Mr Cohen's court appearance has come as a shock to most media outlets, but he may have just provided the most important piece of information in the Mueller investigation.
Identifying "Individual One" as his former client Donald Trump, Cohen stated: "I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual one's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual one." Cohen had previously been a staunch supporter of the Republican leader, even vowing to take a bullet for the president. But Cohen has since changed his tune, following an interview behind closed doors by congressional investigators, and a raid on his home and office in April.
Cohen's lawyer told reporters outside the courtroom that: "Mr Cohen has co-operated. Mr Cohen will continue to co-operate." Cohen himself refused to comment and remained silent.
Earlier in the day, President Trump took to Twitter to criticise the findings of the Mueller investigation, stating: "Did you ever see an investigation more in search of a crime? At the same time Mueller and the Angry Democrats aren’t even looking at the atrocious, and perhaps subversive, crimes that were committed by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. A total disgrace! [sic]"
He later added: "When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever? After wasting more than $40,000,000 (is that possible?), it has proven only one thing-there was NO Collusion with Russia. So Ridiculous! [sic]"
This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.
Donald Trump has come under criticism this week for not remaining impartial in the Russia investigation, as he both attacked his former personal attorney and praised a key witness for having the "guts" to not testify against him.
Trump, unlike other presidents, is quick to speak his mind on Twitter, but some think that his comments could potentially count as witness tampering. In a series of politically-charged tweets, he said that his former lawyer who cut a deal with prosecutors, Michael Cohen, should go to prison.
Cohen, who had previously said he would "take a bullet" for the president, eventually pleaded guilty last week to lying to congress last week, with regards to negotiations he had on Trump's behalf for a real estate deal in Moscow. The talks, which took place in January 2016, actually lasted as late as June - after Trump had got the Republican nomination and after Russians had hacked into Democrat email accounts.
Cohen said he had lied out of loyalty to Trump and to be consistent with his politics, after the now-president had insisted he had no business dealings in Russia. Trump claimed that Cohen "makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself," and that he "lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence".
Soon after, Trump praised his former campaign adviser, Roger Stone. Prosecutors are currently investigating Stone to learn whether he had knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans to release hacked material related to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign prior to the leak.
"This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about 'President Trump,'" he tweeted. "Nice to know that some people still have 'guts!'"
Following this, Stone replied to say he was proud of their 40-year relationship and of the "amazing job he is doing making America Great Again!"
Many are wondering, however, whether these tweets show that Trump is attempting to influence witnesses in an active investigation. Senator Mark Warner, from the Senate intelligence committee, said that the president "should not be using his platform to influence potential witnesses in a federal investigation involving his campaign," but others have said that this still doesn't quite count as witness tampering.
Former Florida Justice Department prosecutor David Weinstein added that, while Trump's comments were surprising, he doesn't believe they amount to obstruction or witness tampering - because Trump didn't explicitly tell anyone what to say or not say.
"What he seems to be saying is that people who continue to show support for him, in some way, may be rewarded for that support," Weinstein said. "I don't think it rises to the level of obstruction yet, but it certainly would cause people who are conducting the investigation to start asking questions about whether or not the target has reached out to them."
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Following Trump's remarks, former campaign aide and close friend to Stone Michael Caputo launched a GoFundMe to help pay for Stone's legal fees - which are allegedly projected to reach $2 million.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, which include campaign-finance violations. According to Cohen, Trump told him to arrange the payment of hush money for porn star Stormy Daniels, as well as a former Playboy model, in the run-up to the presidential campaign - the first time a Trump associate had implicated Trump in a crime in court.
Following the historic verdict against former president Donald Trump in his hush-money scandal, many people across the world have been left with more questions than answers.
What was Donald Trump found guilty of?
On Thursday (May 30), following a six-week trial, a 12-person jury in New York found 77-year-old Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts against him in the hush money scandal.
The ruling meant that - not only was Trump the very first president in US history to be criminally tried - but he is also the first former president to ever be convicted of felony crimes.
Trump faced charges of business fraud linked to hush-money payments made to former adult star Stormy Daniels.
Trump outside of the Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday. Credit: Pool / Getty
The payments - totaling $130,000 (£104,500) - were allegedly orchestrated by Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to secure Daniels' silence about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump prior to the 2016 election, per BBC News.
While paying hush money itself is not illegal, the manner in which it was accounted for has been deemed as election fraud.
A full breakdown of the 34 charges against Trump can be found in official filings here. Additionally, the Statement of Facts, a document that accompanied the indictment, can be found here.
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts and has repeatedly denied any sexual encounters with Daniels.
What happens now that Trump has been found guilty?
After being found guilty by the jury, Judge Juan Merchan set Trump's sentencing date to July 11 at 10:00AM Eastern.
The former POTUS' attorney - Todd Blanche - requested mid-July from the judge so that his legal team have time to focus on the upcoming pre-trial hearings in Trump’s other criminal case related to classified documents found in his Florida home.
Trump is also facing two other criminal cases against him. As well as the documents case, Trump has been accused of plotting to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election. He was charged with four counts in August 2023 and pleaded not guilty, per CBS News.
Additionally, in August 2023, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 allies as part of a racketeering case stemming from an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. The former POTUS has been charged with 10 state felony counts (after three were thrown out), and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
Following Thursday's verdict, Trump was dismissed on his own recognisance. He has been free on bail during the whole proceeding.
Donald Trump is the first president in US history to be criminally tried. Credit: Pool / Getty
With Trump slamming the verdict as a "disgrace", reports state that it is likely his legal team will appeal the guilty ruling - which could stretch out the sentencing process for months.
Trump's lawyers would face the Appellate Division in Manhattan and possibly the Court of Appeals, meaning it is unlikely that on July 11 he will remain free on bail while the appeal process goes ahead.
Could Donald Trump go to prison?
Put simply, yes, Donald Trump could go to prison after being found guilty.
Although the 34 charges he faced are all E felonies in the state of New York (the lowest tier), they still carry a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine to four years in prison. This means that, technically, Trump could face 136 years in prison.
But this is incredibly unlikely -- in fact, it's unlikely he'll receive any jail time at all, according to reports.
Credit: Pool / Getty
Per Forbes, Judge Merchan will take many things into consideration when sentencing Trump - such as his age, the fact that the crimes are non-violent, and the fact he is a first-time offender.
Additionally, given the incredibly high-profile nature of the case -- with Trump being a former president and candidate in the 2024 presidential election -- the judge may see fit not to put Trump behind bars.
Can Donald Trump still run for president now he's a convicted felon?
Yes he can.
Although there are many people throughout the United States who see Trump's guilty verdict as reasoning that he should never sit in the Oval Office ever again, that just isn't the case.
Per The Independent, there are no explicit restrictions in the US Constitution that prevents an individual for running for president if they have been convicted of a crime.
And there's no explicit restriction in the US Constitution that prevents a convicted felon from winning the presidential election.
Credit: Pool / Getty
In fact, in theory, Trump could still run for president and win the election from a prison cell. Incredibly unlikely, but there's nothing legally preventing that from happening.
That being said, Trump has faced backlash ever since announcing his plan to once again run for president - with the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s secretary of state using a clause contained within the 14th Amendment to attempt to remove Trump from the ballot due to his actions on Jan 6.
Nevertheless, Trump successfully appealed both of these attempts after the Supreme Court ruled that only Congress could disqualify a candidate for presidency.
Jurors have reached a verdict in the highly-publicized "hush money" trial of former US President Donald Trump.
Deliberations started on Wednesday (May 29), with 77-year-old Trump becoming the first former president to face a criminal trial.
Trump outside of the Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday. Credit: Pool / Getty
The jury of 12 New Yorkers have now determined that Donald Trump is guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Per The Guardian, as Trump exited the courtroom, he addressed the cameras, denouncing the trial as "rigged" and "disgraceful".
He emphasized that the "real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people", referring to the upcoming presidential election.
Trump asserted that he is "very innocent, adding: "They know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here."
The former POTUS stressed that he is “fighting for our country” and “fighting for our constitution".
He then accused the Biden administration of orchestrating a "rigged" system to target political opponents, adding that they are trying to “wound or hurt a political opponent”.
"This is long from over," he declared before departing the scene.
Credit: Pool / Getty
Trump will be sentenced on July 11 at 10:00AM Eastern.
The former POTUS' attorney - Todd Blanche - requested mid-July from Judge Juan Merchan so that his legal team have time to focus on the upcoming pre-trial hearings in Trump’s other criminal case related to classified documents found in his Florida home.
Shortly following the verdict, the former president's son Donald Trump Jr reacted to the news on X (formerly Twitter), simply writing: "Such bull****".
Former President Donald Trump faced charges of business fraud linked to hush-money payments made to ex-porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The payments, totaling $130,000 (£104,500), were allegedly orchestrated by Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to secure Daniels' silence about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump prior to the 2016 election.
Credit: Ethan Miller / Getty
Prosecutors asserted that Trump directed Cohen to make the payments and then falsely recorded them in his company's financial records as legal expenses, concealing the true nature of the transactions.
While paying hush money itself is not illegal, the manner in which it was accounted for would constitute as election fraud.
Donald Trump is the first president in US history to be criminally tried.
Since the emergence of these allegations in 2018, Trump has consistently denied any sexual involvement with Daniels.
Testifying on May 6 under her legal name, Stephanie Clifford, 45-year-old Daniels claimed that she "swatted" Trump on the butt with a rolled up magazine with his face on.
Over the six-week trial, the jury heard from 22 witnesses. Several notable figures took the stand to testify, shedding light on various aspects of the case - some key names are:
Michael Cohen - Trump's former attorney, responsible for orchestrating the $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels. During the trial, the defense sought to portray Cohen as a disgruntled individual with a vendetta against Trump, driven by personal gain and notoriety. Cohen, however, described Trump as a hands-on manager who was fully informed about the operations within his organization.
David Pecker - Former editor of the National Enquirer, who disclosed details about the "catch-and-kill" strategy employed to suppress negative stories about Trump leading up to the 2016 election. Pecker characterized this arrangement as a mutual understanding among associates.
Hope Hicks - Trump's campaign spokesperson during the 2016 election and a close confidante. Hicks came under scrutiny for her response to the release of the Access Hollywood tape, advising top campaign officials to adopt a strategy of denial.
Madeleine Westerhout - A former White House aide who testified about her role in drafting Trump's tweets. Westerhout revealed that she would prepare the tweets and present them to Trump for his review and editing, noting his preference for the inclusion of exclamation points.
Robert Costello - A lawyer and ally of Trump who provided legal counsel to Michael Cohen. Costello was a key witness for the defense; however, his demeanor during testimony drew criticism from the judge, who admonished him for apparent displays of frustration during objections.
Trump faced a total of 34 counts of fraud and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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