Roger Stone: Trump’s pardon erased fines along with jail time

Details of the clemency deal were made public on Monday after a judge asked the Trump administration for clarification.

Roger Stone reacts after Trump commuted his federal prison sentence in Fort Lauderdale
Roger Stone, a longtime friend and adviser of United States President Donald Trump, reacts after Trump commuted his federal prison sentence, outside his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Friday [Joe Skipper/Reuters] [Reuters]

US President Donald Trump’s executive clemency to his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone not only commuted the veteran Republican operative’s prison term but it also spared him a hefty fine and two years of supervised release.

The details of the clemency arrangement were made public by the United States Department of Justice and Stone’s lawyer on Monday after the judge who presided over the case asked the Trump administration to explain whether the commutation announced on Friday meant he would not be supervised, as many convicted felons are after being freed.

US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had set a Tuesday deadline to receive a copy of Trump’s clemency order along with an explanation about whether it also commuted the period Stone was meant to be supervised after leaving prison.

In the order, Trump wrote that justice would not be served were Stone “to remain confined to his home or serve the said sentence, and the safety of the community will not be compromised if he is released from home confinement and clemency is granted”.

“I commute the entirety of the prison sentence imposed upon the said Roger Stone, Jr. to expire immediately,” read Trump’s order.

“I also commute the entirety of the two-year term of supervised released with all its conditions, and finally, I remit any unpaid balance of the $20,000 fine imposed.”

The president told reporters on Monday that he was getting “rave reviews” for his action on Stone and restated his position that the Russia investigation “should have never taken place”.

Stone, 67, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after being convicted by a jury in Washington last year of lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Stone was found guilty of all seven counts against him. The commutation did not erase Stone’s conviction as a pardon would have.

Stone was due to have reported to a federal prison in Georgia on Tuesday.

Stone’s lawyer Grant Smith, who tweeted out a copy of Trump’s order, said it speaks for itself in answering the judge’s enquiry.

Source: News Agencies