Tag: Trump weakening American rule of law

Trump commutes Roger Stone’s sentence

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of longtime confidant Roger Stone after the former campaign adviser was sentenced to three years and four months in prison in connection with former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

The decision capped a months-long saga that has roiled the Justice Department and divided some of the president’s advisers. Stone was set to report to prison July 14, but his allies had lobbied for a pardon or a commutation, citing his risk of contracting coronavirus while in jail.

The move Friday did not come as a particular surprise, as Trump had at various points in recent months signaled he was leaning toward intervening in Stone’s case. Trump told reporters he was considering a commutation or pardon for Stone as the date he was scheduled to report to prison loomed. Continue reading.

Court appears reluctant to order judge to immediately drop criminal case against Michael Flynn

Washington Post logoA federal appeals court in Washington expressed reluctance Friday to order a judge to immediately dismiss the criminal case against President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, suggesting it will allow the judge to question whether the Justice Department’s decision to drop the prosecution is “in the public interest.”

Flynn, joined by the Justice Department, wants the appeals court to force U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to quickly close the matter and put a stop to the judge’s examination of the retired three-star general’s politically charged case.

But Judges Karen Henderson and Robert Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seemed skeptical of Flynn’s argument that Sullivan cannot review the Justice Department’s abandonment last month of the long-running prosecution. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents about his pre-inauguration contacts with Russia’s ambassador. Continue reading.

‘A constant battle of you against the leadership of your country’: Justice Dept. rattled as Flynn fallout reaches FBI

Washington Post logoPresident Trump cast fresh doubt Friday on the future of his FBI director as federal law enforcement officials privately wrestled with fallout from the Justice Department’s move to throw out the guilty plea of former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn.

The president’s comments in a phone interview with Fox News highlight the ongoing distrust between the White House and some law enforcement officials in the wake of a nearly two-year investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russia’s 2016 election interference and the Trump campaign.

“It’s disappointing,” Trump said when asked about Christopher A. Wray’s role in ongoing reviews of the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation. “Let’s see what happens with him. Look, the jury’s still out.” Continue reading.

D.C. Prosecutors’ Tensions With Justice Dept. Began Long Before Stone Sentencing

New York Times logoMonths of strain date back to the investigation into the former F.B.I. official Andrew McCabe and growing fears of political interference.

WASHINGTON — In the days before they filed the sentencing recommendation for President Trump’s friend Roger J. Stone Jr. that helped plunge the Justice Department into turmoil, the prosecutors on the case felt under siege.

A new boss, Timothy Shea, had just arrived and had told them on his first day that he wanted a more lenient recommendation for Mr. Stone, and he pushed back hard when they objected, according to two people briefed on the dispute. They grew suspicious that Mr. Shea was helping his longtime friend and boss, Attorney General William P. Barr, soften the sentencing request to please the president.

In an attempt to ease the strain, David Metcalf, Mr. Shea’s chief of staff, clasped his hand on the shoulder of one of the prosecutors, Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, as they passed in a hallway. But the gesture prompted a terse and sharp verbal exchange, according to three people briefed on the encounter. As word of the spat spread through the office, unfounded rumors swirled that the altercation had been physical. Continue reading.

Pelosi: Trump abused his power in weighing in on Roger Stone sentencing

Pelosi says matter should be investigated but doesn’t mention possible impeachment articles

President Donald Trump again abused his power in weighing in on the Justice Department’s recommendation on Roger Stone’s sentencing, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.

In using the phrase “abuse of power,” Pelosi referenced one of the charges the House used to impeach Trump over the stalled military aid package to Ukraine. The Senate acquitted him of the abuse of power charge, as well as a separate charge of obstruction of Congress.

Pelosi did not mention additional impeachment articles when asked what Congress can do to address this latest instance of Trump allegedly abusing his power.  Continue reading.

Trump takes on Judge Amy Berman Jackson ahead of Roger Stone’s sentencing

Washington Post logoFirst he went after the prosecutors who recommended a multiyear sentence for his friend Roger Stone. Then President Trump turned his Twitter ire to the “witch hunt disgrace” of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, which led to Stone’s indictment. But perhaps most surprising was Trump’s decision to target U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson — who will determine Stone’s fate when he appears in her courtroom next Thursday.

It was not the first time Trump had gone after a federal judge or questioned the judiciary, but Tuesday’s attack was nevertheless vexing to current and former judges as Jackson prepares to decide whether to send the president’s friend to prison — and for how long.

“The timing is outrageous, and the notion that you’re attempting to influence a judge,” retired federal judge Nancy Gertner said. Continue reading.