‘INSULT TO US’
SELF-PROCLAIMED "dirty trickster" Roger Stone looks set to receive a heavily reduced prison sentence after a shock backflip by justice officials.
Their U-turn comes after the intervention of Donald Trump, who said his ally didn't deserve to be caged for nine years.
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Stone, 67, was arrested in a dramatic dawn raid by FBI agents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in January last year.
He was later found guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
Prosecutors had recommended that he be handed nine years in prison.
But on Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department abruptly moved to seek a much shorter prison sentence for the veteran Republican operative and long-time Trump adviser.
All four prosecutors quit the case after the highly unusual reversal, reports Reuters.
Trump - after being alerted to the likelihood that his mate could be jailed for nine years - tweeted:
“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!”
ROBERT MUELLER
Hours after the president complained, senior justice department officials overrode the sentencing recommendation by federal prosecutors.
In a new court filing, a Justice Department official who had not previously worked on the case called the nine-year prison recommendation "excessive and unwarranted".
Democrats blasted the department's shift in the high-profile case involving Stone, whose friendship with Trump dates back decades.
His trial arose from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that detailed extensive Russian interference in the 2016 election to benefit Trump's candidacy.
Stone, who has labeled himself a "dirty trickster" and "agent provocateur" and famously has the face of former President Richard Nixon tattooed on his back, was one of several Trump associates charged with crimes as part of Mueller's investigation.
"BANANA REPUBLIC"
Legal experts described the department's move to reduce his sentence as highly unusual.
They said it would be unusual for prosecutors to change their proposed sentence after filing a formal recommendation to the court, especially on a high-profile case like this.
Democrats accused Attorney General William Barr, who heads the department, of working to protect Trump's political interests.
Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said: "The president seems to think the entire Justice Department is just his personal lawsuit to prosecute his enemies and help his friends."
He asked the department's internal watchdog to investigate the surprise reversal.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen added on Twitter: "AG Barr must stop being the President's lapdog. They are turning us into a banana republic."
Stone's defense team, in a filing late on Monday, disputed the prosecution's calculation and proposed a range of between 15 and 21 months.
They asked the judge for a sentence that would fall below that range.
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The new Justice Department filing noted that Stone's guideline sentence would be significantly less - about three to four years - if the charge that he threatened a witness, Randy Credico, was not used in the calculation.
Stone was convicted of the charge.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is due to sentence Stone on February 20.
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Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone delivers remarks and takes questions from the press
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