On Monday, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia filed sentencing guidelines for Roger Stone, requesting that Judge Amy Berman Jackson give the former Trump campaign surrogate seven to nine years in federal prison for lying to Congress and for witness tampering during the Mueller investigation. If the recommendation is adhered to, Stone would serve more time than any other conviction stemming from the inquiry into Trump campaign connections to Russia.
“Roger Stone obstructed Congress’ investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, lied under oath, and tampered with a witness,” prosecutors wrote. “And when his crimes were revealed by the indictment in this case, he displayed contempt for this Court and the rule of law.”
Stone, who was convicted of seven felony counts in total and is scheduled to be sentenced next week, had threatened radio host Randy Credico from testifying before Congress. (Stone testified that Credico served as his intermediary when contacting WikiLeaks to find out when the organization would release information damaging to the Clinton campaign, though prosecutors allege the real middleman was conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi.) “You are a rat,” Stone allegedly wrote in an email to Credico. “A stoolie. You backstab your friends — run your mouth my lawyers are dying Rip you to shreds.” Shortly after, he followed up, allegedly threatening to take Credico’s dog from him, and told him to “prepare to die.”
A self-described “mendacious windbag” and a veteran of Republican politics dating back to Richard Nixon, in the 1980s Stone helped build the modern infrastructure of political lobbying with Paul Manafort — who was sentenced by Judge Jackson last year to 43 months in prison on charges stemming from the Russia investigation. After Stone is sentenced next week, only Michael Flynn will remain of former Trump advisers who faced charges for their actions related to the 2016 campaign. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan postponed Flynn’s sentencing for a charge of lying to the FBI “until further order of the court,” after his new team of attorney moved to retract his 2017 guilty plea.
