House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that Trump and Barr interfering in Roger Stone’s sentencing is a clear abuse of power.
Chairman Schiff said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
Roger Stone lied to the House Intelligence Committee and threatened a witness in an effort to cover up candidate Trump’s efforts to communicate with Wikileaks in releasing the Russian-hacked emails. He was found guilty on all charges.
If reports are correct, the Department of Justice and Attorney General Bill Barr are poised to overrule career prosecutors who made a sentencing recommendation yesterday, following a midnight tweet from the President attacking the proposed length of sentence.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
I do not take a position on the proper prison term for Mr. Stone, but it would be a blatant abuse of power if President Trump has in fact intervened to reverse the recommendations of career prosecutors at the Department of Justice.
Doing so would send an unmistakable message that President Trump will protect those who lie to Congress to cover up his own misconduct, and that the Attorney General will join him in that effort.
Coupled with the President’s blatant retaliation against those who helped expose his wrongdoing, the Trump Administration poses the gravest threat to the rule of law in America in a generation.”
After Trump complained on Twitter about the 7-9 year recommended prison sentence for his buddy Roger Stone, Attorney General Barr had the Department of Justice announce that they would be recommending a much lighter sentence for Stone. Barr and Trump are going to overrule prosecutors to help out Trump’s felon friend.
Schiff was right. The message being sent is that those who lie to protect Trump will be rewarded.
Trump didn’t drain the swamp. He turned it into a radioactive waste dump for his corruption.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
