On Friday night, President Trump commuted the prison sentence of former campaign advisor Roger Stone.
Stone, 67, was scheduled to serve nearly three and a half years in prison as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
He was due to report to prison on July 14th.
The White House released the following statement from the President after commuting Stone’s sentence:
“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!”
Roger Stone said President Trump saved his life, per NBC News:
“The president has saved my life,” Stone said, “And he’s given me the opportunity to fight for vindication.”
He previously had said that any period in a federal prison would amount to a death sentence, given the coronavirus pandemic and his health problems. “I’m 67 years old. I had very, very severe asthma as a child. If you look at the profile of those who are most at risk, I think I fit that,” he said earlier.
While he expressed his gratitude for Trump’s decision, Stone says it didn’t come as a shock.
“Well I was, I was elated,” he said Friday night outside his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home surrounded by onlookers. “Obviously I was somewhat relieved, but I was not surprised.”
Fox News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett called Trump’s actions “courageous” and stated the evidence against Stone was “weak”.
Some Congressional Republicans — including Jim Jordan — applauded Trump’s commutation of Stone’s sentence:
On the other hand, some congressional Democrats were less than happy about Trump’s move.
Congressman Adam Schiff tweeted, “Trump just commuted Roger Stone’s sentence. Stone lied and intimidated witnesses to hide Trump’s exploitation of the Russian hack of his opponent’s campaign. With Trump there are now two systems of justice in America: One for Trump’s criminal friends and one for everyone else.”
Senator and failed presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said Trump “has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He is truly the most corrupt president in history.”