All Four Prosecutors In Roger Stone Case Quit After DOJ Asks for Lighter Sentence
The four prosecutors handling the government’s case against Trump ally Roger Stone all requested to be removed from the legal proceedings on Tuesday following the Justice Department’s indication that it would pursue a lighter sentence for the convicted felon than previously recommended.
A senior Justice Department official said the agency’s leadership was “shocked” by the seven-to-nine-year prison term that prosecutors had requested, and that it would ask for a shorter sentence.
“That recommendation is not what had been briefed to the department,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The department finds the recommendation extreme and excessive and disproportionate to Stone’s offenses.”
Trump wrote on Twitter early Tuesday morning that the original sentence for which prosecutors had argued was a “miscarriage of Justice!”
A Justice Department spokesperson said the decision to submit the new sentencing memo was made before Trump’s tweet. In it, the department refused to offer a new timeframe, deferring to the Court.
Stone, convicted last fall of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing a congressional probe, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.
