Politics

Trump Signals Roger Stone Pardon: ‘He Can Sleep Well at Night!’

The president said his longtime friend was a victim while all but promising that Stone will see no prison time

June 4, 2020

Roger Stone, a longtime advisor to US President Donald J. Trump, leaves after his sentencing hearing at the DC Federal District Court in Washington, DC. February 20, 2020. ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

With Roger Stone’s report to prison date arriving soon, President Trump took to Twitter on Thursday and strongly suggested he’d pardon his longtime advisor.

In response to a tweet from right-wing activist Charlie Kirk that decried Stone’s sentence as an injustice, Trump wrote, “No. Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!”

No. Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night! https://t.co/HHg24tcZrx

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February for lying to Congress under oath, threatening a witness and obstruction of justice in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Prosecutors asked for Stone to receive between seven to nine years in prison but in a controversial move, Attorney General Bill Barr stepped in and recommend a more lenient prison sentence.

Trump has hinted several times that a Stone pardon might be forthcoming, but Thursday’s tweet seems to be an outright proclamation that his friend will not spend a day behind bars.