CNN reports:
Roger Stone will still be sentenced Thursday, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, amid a tumultuous week that saw President Donald Trump suggest she is biased and several prosecutors quit his case after Justice Department leadership rescinded their initial sentencing recommendation.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson says she’ll consider his latest request for a new trial on a different schedule and will give him time to appeal after she makes her sentencing judgment.
Jackson didn’t comment at the 15-minute hearing on the prosecutor withdrawals or political furor over the case. Stone was convicted last year on seven charges of obstruction, lying to Congress and witness tampering, but has asked for a new trial.
USA Today reports:
President Donald Trump criticized the Justice Department for prosecuting his longtime associate Roger Stone and recommending that Stone serve up to nine years in prison. He claims Stone did “nothing” and “nobody even can define what he did,” but that’s his opinion.
The Justice Department summed it up in November when the jury rendered its verdict: “Stone was found guilty of obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress and tampering with a witness.”
All of the charges stemmed from Stone’s attempts to thwart the House intelligence committee’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“Judge Jackson now has a request for a new trial based on the unambiguous & self outed bias of the foreperson of the jury, whose also a lawyer, by the way. ‘Madam foreperson, you’re a lawyer, you have a duty, an affirmative obligation, to reveal to us when we selected you the….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2020
…..existence of these tweets in which you were so harshly negative about the President & the people who support him. Don’t you think we wanted to know that before we put you on this jury.’ Pretty obvious he should (get a new trial). I think almost any judge in the Country…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2020
…..would order a new trial, I’m not so sure about Judge Jackson, I don’t know.” @Judgenap (Andrew Napolitano) @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2020