Roger Stone’s legal team will soon respond to federal prosecutors, asking an appeals court on Thursday to decline his request for a postponement of his prison sentence in September.
The longtime Republican operative and ally of President Trump shared his plans in a statement with the Washington Examiner.
“There is no reasonable explanation for the government change of position. Perhaps this is more of the ‘Special Treatment’ Democrats say I am getting. In their response to our appeal, they are attempting to rewrite the facts and in fact their response is rife with inaccuracies. This will be reflected and documented in our response which will be filed shortly,” Stone told the Washington Examiner in a text message.
Stone’s lawyers asked a federal appeals court to postpone the start date of his prison sentence, now scheduled for next week, until Sept. 3, citing “medically documented life-threatening health risks” due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, prosecutors said U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the judge overseeing Stone’s case, made the correct decision by only approving an extension until Tuesday. He has until Friday to submit a response to the government with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
As it stands now, Stone must surrender to a federal prison in Jesup, Georgia, on Tuesday.
“I find the government opposition to my appeal baffling and indefensible in view of the fact that none of the facts have changed since we made our emergency motion to Judge Jackson,” Stone said. “Other than the fact that there were no confirmed COVID-19 cases at the Jessup correctional facility then, but there is at least 20 now. So COVID-19 was dangerous last week but it isn’t this week? In the meantime, two violent sex offenders, pedophiles and child pornographers and a bank robber have been released from the SAME prison over concerns that they could be exposed to COVID.”
Prosecutors for the Justice Department determined Jackson’s decision was a “reasonable exercise of that court’s discretion based on the totality of the factual and legal circumstances.”
“Accordingly, the government supports the district court’s ruling, and this Court should affirm it,” they also said.
Stone argued the government’s decision ignores legal precedent on compassionate release, asserting he is being treated differently from every other person who has been in his situation.
“Judge Jackson also ignored the legal precedent on all motions for compassionate release to prevent COVID exposure in her circuit and every other circuit in the United States. In other words, I am being treated differently than every other person in my situation. Jackson’s decision still also specifically violates the current DOJ/BOP policies on the matter,” Stone said.
Stone, 67, was charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He was arrested in January 2019 and was later found guilty on five separate counts of lying to the House Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian interference about his alleged outreach to WikiLeaks, one count that he “corruptly obstructed” the congressional investigation and another for attempting to intimidate a possible congressional witness, radio host Randy Credico.
Stone was sentenced to 40 months for obstruction of justice and 12 months for the other five counts to be served concurrently. He also received a $20,000 fine and two years of supervised release when he gets out.
Trump has decried Stone’s sentencing as a “miscarriage of justice” in the past but has thus far refused to grant clemency for him. Stone told Fox News on Thursday he is “praying” the president will intervene.
