It sucks that so many criminals associated with the 2016 election heist either evaded punishment altogether or got absurdly light sentences. That includes Trump, who remains in office despite the House Dems making an airtight case against him on two articles of impeachment.
We can and must work toward extracting a political toll on Trump and his Republican enablers in the upcoming election, and impeachment was an important part of that. But the lack of accountability under the law is disturbing regardless. Looks like Roger Stone may not be so lucky. Via TPM:
In a court filing Monday evening, prosecutors recommended to a federal judge that former Trump associate Roger Stone serves seven to nine years in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering during the Russia probe.
“Roger Stone obstructed Congress’ investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, lied under oath, and tampered with a witness,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “And when his crimes were revealed by the indictment in this case, he displayed contempt for this Court and the rule of law. For that, he should be punished in accord with the advisory Guidelines.”
Prosecutors argued in the filing that given how “Stone’s actions were not a one-off mistake” and that his false statements were not “made in the heat of the moment,” a prison sentence of 87 to 108 months — which is equivalent to around seven to nine years — is “appropriate.”
Not sure that’s enough time considering the gravity of the offense, but it’s not nothing either. Stone has tried the patience of Judge Amy Berman Jackson a thousand times with his bizarre antics during the trial. I hope it comes back to bite him on the ass later this month and that the perp walk is televised.
PS: I looked up Stone’s age to figure out if 7-9 years would amount to a life sentence in his case and was surprised to learn he’s 67. Since he looks like an indifferently drawn cartoon villain, it’s hard to guess his age from his appearance, but I figured he was pushing 80 because he’s been a boil on the butt of American democracy since I was a small child. Stone must have been a ratfuck prodigy.
ETA: I’ve been avoiding Trump’s Twitter feed for health reasons, but he weighed in on Stone’s sentence recommendation during the wee hours this morning:
This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!
Trump also retweeted some wingnut who said the proposed sentence would be “an unhinged miscarriage of justice.”
ETA2: Velveeta Voldemort gets mad, and Barr scurries to make it go away.
The DOJ is changing its sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, according to a Senior DOJ official.
“The Department finds seven to nine years extreme, excessive and grossly disproportionate," the source said, adding the DOJ will clarify its position on sentencing later today— Jake Gibson (@JakeBGibson) February 11, 2020
Out-fucking-rageous.