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.
.jpg_7IqL68?tr=h-184)
