Roger Stone: The Man Trump Rescued
President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone Friday, offering refuge to an ally who has espoused violent rhetoric, bigotry, and conspiracy theories and cozied up to violent hate groups and conspiracy theorists.
Stone is a close associate of the Proud Boys hate group , which has been responsible for multiple violent incidents across the nation. He has recruited members of the group as private security , attending a political rally with a gaggle of its members in 2018. The group has stayed loyal to Stone, with organization leaders attending Stone’s court appearances in D.C. wearing pro-Stone swag. In a recent interview with some of the most prominent podcasters of the Qanon conspiracy theory, Stone spoke approvingly of the QAnon movement—which the FBI considers a domestic terrorism risk. During his appearance on the pro-QAnon show, Stone encouraged the associated movement, saying that he hoped ”Q” was real.
Stone is a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, and a longtime GOP fixer who has worked on behalf of former Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. In 2015, Stone worked as an early adviser and consultant to Trump’s presidential campaign. Although the duo formally parted ways with each other in August that year, Stone continued to organize for Trump throughout the entire campaign season and Trump’s first term. Stone teamed up with far-right conspiracy theorist shock jock Alex Jones as a media partner and co-organizer of a rally at the 2016 Republican National Convention that featured what would become some of the highest profile pro-Trump voices of the Trump era, including Milo Yiannopoulos, Diamond & Silk, Ed Martin, and Kelli Ward.
It was through Stone that Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange is thought to have entered the Trump campaign orbit. Jones told listeners in late 2018 that Stone had originally contacted Assange as part of an audition for a job at Jones’ Infowars media outlet, although Jones is notorious for making false statements. During the 2016 election, Wikileaks published a trove of hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta—an event that is widely interpreted as having contributed to Trump’s victory over Clinton—and fed conspiracy theories, disinformation, and smears that cited the stolen communications. Private messages reportedly showed that Stone was in contact with Assange and Russian military intelligence during that time. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon testified that he saw Stone as an “access point” to WikiLeaks and Assange during the 2016 campaign.
After special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to lead the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Stone offered assurances to Assange that he would be safe from prosecutors. But Stone failed to protect Assange from federal prosecution, or his own skin for that matter .
In February, Stone was sentenced to more than three years in prison and two years of probation for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation. Federal officials originally recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in prison, but after angry tweets from Trump, the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr withdrew its recommendation and replaced it with a lesser one, prompting four DOJ employees to resign from the case in apparent protest.
Even then, Stone has sought to garner public sympathy and has begged Trump to come to his rescue. Stone repeatedly claimed he had been prosecuted for the fact he supported Trump’s presidential bid and claimed that going to prison would effectively serve as a death sentence for him.
On Friday, just days before Stone was supposed to report to prison, Trump commuted Stone’s sentence. Stone will not go to prison, serve probation, or pay his ordered $20,000 fine. The news of Trump’s decision came after a months-long campaign by Infowars and Fox News to rationalize and excuse Stone’s criminal acts.
Stone is a low life who has some real life similarities to Trump. Neither of them can tell the truth.
Roger Stone is straight-up creepy.
He is closely associated with Alex Jones and Infowars, and also with the Proud Boys, and has had private communication with Russian hackers and wikileaks. He's not an honest person or a sincere person, or as you say, a personally normal and decent person. In other words he's a Trump pal.
William Barr, Trump's submissive and obedient Attorney General , has said that the prosecution of Stone was legitimate and he deserves to go to prison.
If even Barr says that, you know that the truth is not on Stone's side.
A 12 member jury of his peers found Stone guilty on all charges.... AG Barr agreed with the charges, prosecution, judgement, and sentence against Stone.
So exactly whom do you think is at fault here MUVA? Everyone else but Stone? Talk about blinders.
Are you forgetting that there were jurors that were provided evidence and found that evidence of crime valid? Those are the blinders you've got on.
Trumped-up charges? This isn't about 'trumped-up charges'. The man was convicted. Period. Donald Trump had the capacity to give Roger Stone a full pardon. But he didn't. Roger Stone is still, and will always be, a convicted felon.
Also, if anyone thinks that haggling over terms hasn't been going on between Trump and Stone, they would be mistaken. Roger Stone was to report to prison this morning. He flinched first. No prison and a monetary supplement was better than nothing.
Good god XD..... We won't even delve into you posting from some far right conservative rag..... When you see it posted by the BBC, or Reuters, then we will take it under consideration....
That said.... If this juror was so biased, why didn't the defendant's lawyers have her dismissed during the jury screening as is their right? Furthermore... There were 11 other persons that were all in agreement of Stone being guilty of the charges. Are you telling me you want to do away with our court systems too.
It's just like you to blame everyone else than those whom are responsible....
The information didn't come to light until AFTER the trial...
Then Stone's lawyers were incompetent....
I forgot XD.... for you, everything to the left of Stormfront is fake news. Reuters and the BBC are two of the least biased news outlets known....
You are correct John. Here is scum Stone with the proud boys who he hired for protection, I think this was in 2018.
He'll never do it because he knows that Trump will not be around long enough to help him out when he is convicted again.
He is also not going to prison on trumped up charges because he would lie for Mueller.
"Trumped up"???
In February, Stone was sentenced to more than three years in prison and two years of probation for lying to Congress , witness tampering , and obstructing the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation
Pun intended?
Is that why he isn't entitled to a fair trial?
He had a fair trial.
A proven liar pardoned by another proven liar.
Classic
multiple levels of judicial obstruction and trumpsters all look the other way...
What are the odds that at some point, when Trump stops taking Stone's calls (which has probably already happened), a hell of a tell-all will hit the shelves and make Stone millions. After all, $130,000 would be an insult to this fool:
Oops. I mean this fool:
you might let some of the nutjobs who swear that he is blackmailing Trump know that they are wrong.
Someone who is being blackmailed wouldn't dare to refuse a call from their blackmailer.
Stone was not pardoned. His sentence was commuted.
Thanks for pointing out my error. Necessary change made.
One proven liar sentence commuted by another proven liar.
...between 'pabulum' and 'pablum'...
source
They can't keep up with you Sister.
pablum is anything overly bland or simplistic, especially speech or writing while pabulum is food or fodder, particularly that taken in by plants or animals
In this case............some humans.....bland simplistic fodder taken in by humans.
Stone was not pardoned. His sentence was commuted.
A poem (by Ogden Nash ):
I give you now Professor Twist,
A conscientious scientist,
Trustees exclaimed, "He never bungles!"
And sent him off to distant jungles.
Camped on a tropic riverside,
One day he missed his loving bride.
She had, the guide informed him later,
Been eaten by an alligator.
Professor Twist could not but smile.
"You mean," he said, "a crocodile."