WASHINGTON — Trump ally Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison Thursday for making what prosecutors said were false statements to investigators regarding the Trump-Russia probe.
Prosecutors had suggested that Stone, 67, serve nine years.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, while sentencing Stone, said the prison term originally sought by federal prosecutors was “too excessive.”
“Mr. Stone lied,” Jackson said, denying allegations put forth by Stone’s defense team that he had been persecuted for his conservative stance. “He was not prosecuted, as some have claimed, for standing up for the president. He was prosecuted for covering up for the president.”
Stone, who was convicted in November on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, chose not to speak on his own behalf during the sentencing.
President Trump took quickly to Twitter following Stone’s sentencing, blasting the decision as politically motivated.
“’They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.’ @CNN. OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?” he tweeted.
The sentence is a far cry from the probation sought by Stone’s defense team, who cited their client’s age and lack of criminal history.
Stone was the sixth Trump aide to be convicted of charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian collusion during the 2016 presidential election.
In addition to his sentence, Roger Stone was fined $20,000 and given restrictions on travel pending his defense team’s motion for a new trial over claims of juror bias. Stone remains free on bond pending the outcome of the motion.
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