Former Trump advisor Roger Stone, who was found guilty in Nov 2019 of obstruction and witness tampering in the Mueller investigation, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison. Here’s what else you need to know.
UPDATE, 2/20/2020, 12:51pm ET: Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison in a court in Washington, DC, for witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and lying to Congress. Stone entered the courtroom on the morning of February 20 wearing large sunglasses as protestors shouted “traitor” at him. The longtime Trump ally, 67, was convicted in November 2019, and prosecutors initially recommended he be sentenced to up to nine years in prison. Four prosecutors withdrew from the case last week after the Department of Justice, led by Attorney General William Barr, 69, overruled that recommendation; President Donald Trump had tweeted that Stone’s potential sentencing was a “miscarriage of justice” and that the case should be “thrown out” altogether.
UPDATE, 11/15/19, 2:00pm ET: Richard Nixon is finally going to prison. Well, at least on Roger Stone‘s back. Stone was convicted on November 15 all seven counts of obstruction, making false statements, and witness tampering. Jurors deliberated for eight hours over two days, after a weeklong trial. Stone will return to court on February 6, 2020 for sentencing; he faces the possibility of prison time, with a maximum possible prison sentence of 20 years alone on the witness tampering charge. The government’s request that Stone remain in jail until his sentencing date was denied by DC District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, though she ordered him to continue abiding by his gag order. The order includes a ban on social media usage, and on making public statements about his case.
ORIGINAL: Roger Stone, 64, President Donald Trump‘s longtime confidant and the former advisor to his presidential campaign, was arrested on January 25 by the FBI after being indicted for allegedly lying to the House Intelligence Committee and obstructing their investigation of Russian collusion in the 2016 election. Here’s five key things you should know about Stone:
1. Stone was accused in a seven-page indictment of misleading lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee. The indictment alleges that Stone, who has known Trump for 40 years, misled the lawmakers about his communications with Wikileaks and contacts within the Trump presidential campaign. The indictment also states that Stone allegedly attempted to intimidate a witness in the probe, radio host Randy Credico. Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s office said Stone will appear in court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 25 at 11:00am ET.
Grant Smith, one of Stone’s attorneys, told POLITICO that he believes he’ll be released after his court appearance. At his arraignment, likely next week in DC, Stone plans to plead not guilty. “Roger intends to fight these trumped up baseless charges that have nothing to do with the original intent of the special counsel’s investigation,” Smith said.
2. He reportedly tweeted his involvement with collusion on WikiLeaks and he was also accused of communicating with Russia in February 2017. In a now deleted tweet, Stone seemingly admitted to having “back-channel” communications with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to seek information about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, 69. Stone’s timing was impeccable, seeing as he was an advisor on Trump’s campaign, and there are reports that multiple advisors on that campaign had undisclosed communications with Russian officials.
Stone admitted to having ties to WikiLeaks in October 2016. “I do have a back-channel communication with Assange, because we have a good mutual friend,” Stone told CBS4 News on October 12, 2016, via CBS Miami. “That friend travels back and forth from the United States to London and we talk. I had dinner with him last Monday.” However, Stone did deny having direct contact with Assange. In an Instagram video, Stone denied having contacts with Russian officials.
Stone, as well as other Trump team members, were reportedly investigated by the FBI for the president’s administration’s alleged ties to Russia. Stone has denied the reports at the time. But, he changed his tune on March 3, when he said, “Sure, [the FBI will] get my grocery lists. They may get the emails between my wife and I, but here’s what they won’t get ― any contact with the Russians.”
3. Roger was banned by CNN and MSNBC for making nasty comments about women. The former Trump advisor may surpass the President’s harsh tweets. He’s been known to tweet outspoken things to random people, often calling women “fat” and “ugly.” On March 5, he tweeted about CNN’s Ana Navarro and called her lewd names. As a result of his scathing tweets, Stone has been banned from appearing on both CNN and MSNBC. “He will [no] longer appear as a guest on CNN,” a network spokesperson said in Feb. 2016 after Stone made foul comments about network talent. Stone even took to Twitter to slam J.K. Rowling, 51, and Rosie O’Donnell, 54, on March 5, 2017. He called J.K. a “hypocrite” for her opinion on refugees and tweeted a photo of Rosie labeled “dope.”
4. He’s a New York Times best-selling author and a fashion blogger. Roger is the author of five popular books, which include: The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ, Nixon’s Secrets: The Rise, Fall and Untold Truth About the President, Watergate and the Pardon, The Clintons’ War on Women, and Jeb! and the Bush Crime Family. His most recent book is titled, The Making of the President 2016: How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution, which he released at the end of January 2017.
It’s no secret that Stone loves to dress up in lavish ensembles, which include colorful bowties, round sunglasses, top hats, and 3-piece suits. His outfits are documented on his fashion blog, Stone On Style. The political strategist, prior to his imprisonment, wrote fashion stories regularly on his site, and has a style Instagram account, as well.
5. He has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back.
Look, if we have to see it, then so do you. There’s really nothing else we can say about this, so here’s the pic. Stone worked for disgraced former president Richard Nixon in 1972, and apparently had such a good experience that he commemorated it with a back tattoo. He’s probably regretting that right about now. No word on whether or not he has a secret Ronald Reagan tattoo, considering he worked on his presidential campaign in 1976.