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“This is intolerable to the rule of justice,” she said. “The court cannot just sit idly by and say ‘that’s just Roger being Roger.'”<\/p>\n
Judge Jackson also said Stone “was not prosecuted for standing up for the president, he was prosecuted for covering up for the president”.<\/p>\n
She continued: “The dismay and disgust at the defendant’s belligerence should transcend party.”<\/p>\n
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- Roger Stone: Trump ally and Russia probe defendant<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
“At his core, Mr Stone is an insecure person who craves and recklessly pursues attention.”<\/p>\n
She said the politics surrounding the case did not inform her ultimate decision.<\/p>\n
“The truth still exists. The truth still matters,” she said.<\/p>\n
What politics was the judge referring to?<\/h2>\n
After prosecutors last week recommended a sentence of seven to nine years, Mr Trump tweeted that such a prison term would be “very horrible and unfair”.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice then swiftly said it planned to reduce the amount of prison time sought for Stone.<\/p>\n
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- Prosecutors quit Roger Stone case over dispute<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This led all four prosecutors on the case to quit, one leaving the justice department entirely.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Judge Jackson called the justice department intervention “unprecedented”.<\/p>\n
What did Stone’s lawyer say?<\/h2>\n
The defendant’s attorney, Seth Ginsberg, said that despite his client’s image as a “dirty trickster”, he was a spiritual man, devoted to his family.<\/p>\n
“Mr Stone is, in fact, not simply that public persona, but a human being,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Ginsberg had argued that Stone should get no prison time.<\/p>\n
Stone declined to speak at Thursday’s hearing. Wearing sunglasses and a dark fedora, he entered the courthouse flanked by his wife, family and friends.<\/p>\n
He walked past several protesters, one of whom shouted “traitor”.<\/p>\n
How did President Trump respond?<\/h2>\n
Speaking in Las Vegas, Nevada, after the sentencing, the Republican president defended Stone.<\/p>\n
He indicated no immediate plans to pardon Stone, but said “at some point I’m going to make a determination”.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump said: “I’d love to see Roger exonerated, and I’d love to see it happen because I personally think he was treated very unfairly.”<\/p>\n
“It is my strong opinion that the forewoman of the jury is totally tainted,” Mr Trump also said. “She was an anti-Trump activist.”<\/p>\n
Awaiting Stone’s sentencing, Mr Trump sent a tweet<\/a> that seemed to question his ally’s conviction while listing a host of perceived enemies.<\/p>\n
What does Trump mean by a ‘tainted’ jury?<\/h2>\n
Mr Trump was apparently referring to Tomeka Hart, a former Democratic congressional candidate originally from Tennessee who has publicly identified herself as a jury forewoman.<\/p>\n
One of her fellow jurors has denied<\/a>\u00a0bias played any part in the guilty verdict for Stone.<\/p>\n
Stone plans an appeal on the basis of supposed juror bias.<\/p>\n
Who is Roger Stone?<\/h2>\n
Stone has worked with Republicans since the 1970s and has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back.<\/p>\n
In the 1990s, Stone worked as a lobbyist for Mr Trump’s casino business, and later helped Mr Trump’s unsuccessful White House run in 2000.<\/p>\n
According to the Netflix documentary Get Me Roger Stone, the strategist reportedly encouraged Mr Trump to run for the presidency again.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
- Prosecutors quit Roger Stone case over dispute<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n