President Donald Trump abused his power on Friday evening to commute the sentence of his friend Roger Stone, a move that will keep Stone out of prison even though a jury found him guilty.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged Stone with obstructing FBI and congressional investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 Election. The evidence against Stone sunk him in court, but Trump has repeatedly accused the judge and jury of being biased.
And after Stone seemed to suggest that he might talk if Trump does not commute his sentence, Trump did exactly that while claiming that Stone had already suffered enough.
BREAKING: POTUS commutes Roger Stone’s sentence.
From WH: “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!”— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) July 10, 2020
Again, Stone was found guilty in a court of law by a jury in a fair trial. He should be rotting in prison, but Stone knew how to force Trump’s hand.
So here’s Roger Stone explicitly asking @realDonaldTrump for executive clemency on the ground that Stone refused to provide evidence against Trump.
This couldn’t be more corrupt. https://t.co/xMLsEiNmAz
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 10, 2020
And the commutation enraged Americans and drew a rebuke from legal experts.
Impeached presidents or syphilitic sock monkeys posing as them shouldn’t have this power. Too nervous to let him sing in prison, you pathological pustule?
— Lesley Abravanel? (@lesleyabravanel) July 11, 2020
If you are friends with the president, you can break the law without consequences. Law and order, indeed.
— Michaleen (@michaleen) July 11, 2020
Putting that Obstruction of Justice right out in the open 4 months before the election was really a smart move. #ByeDon2020
— D Villella ❄️ (@dvillella) July 11, 2020
“I think the prosecution was righteous, and I think the sentence that the judge ultimately gave was fair.” – Attorney General Bill Barr on Roger Stone’s conviction
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) July 11, 2020
Well, so much for America’s big experiment in law & order. That has failed, & the @GOP just watches it happen. America is moving on to something else now like other lawless Banana Republics.
— grey (@greywolfmoon3) July 11, 2020
Roger Stone isn’t just a “Trump ally”—he’s a criminal accomplice to a foreign government tampering with our elections.
He protected Trump’s secrets in exchange for a pardon. This is obstruction of justice. https://t.co/wtY4Pa2jTw
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) July 11, 2020
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.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 11, 2020
The abuse of the powers of pardon and commutation for personal benefit is squarely, centrally, an impeachment offense.
— Jacob T. Levy (@jtlevy) July 11, 2020
Roger Stone obstructed justice in service to the President. And here Stone is so emboldened he is picking what kind of reward he wants. https://t.co/7cHTS1mtHk
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) July 10, 2020
This very well could undo a pardon. The constitution grants Presidents much latitude when it comes to pardons, but not this much. It would be tantamount to a Trump self-pardon, which goes against 5 centuries of Anglo-American law. https://t.co/dlacnkoPfU
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 10, 2020
This is a miscarriage of justice, and every single attorney and employee at the Justice Department should resign in protest. It should be open mutiny at the department for what Trump has done. And when a new administration takes office, every Trump pardon and commutation should be reversed and justice pursued until he and all of his criminal buddies are locked up for the rest of their lives.
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