DOJ's Investigation Clears Trump of Influencing Roger Stone's Sentencing
- A Justice Department investigation found no evidence that Donald Trump influenced Bill Barr to reduce Roger Stone's sentencing in 2020.
- The findings come from a watchdog report that examined the political ramifications of Stone's sentencing.
- This report may have implications for Trump’s ongoing legal matters and public perception.
In a recently released report by DOJ Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that former Attorney General William Barr's decision to alter the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone was influenced by President Trump's public criticism. The 85-page report, made public by the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General, clarified that Barr's involvement in the Stone case was discretionary and not prohibited by any laws or regulations. Roger Stone was convicted in November 2019 on multiple charges, including lying to Congress and obstructing a House investigation related to the Trump campaign's alleged coordination with Russia. Initially, federal prosecutors sought a lengthy prison sentence of seven to nine years for Stone, but this recommendation was overruled by senior DOJ officials, leading to the resignation of the four prosecutors who had advocated for the harsher sentence. The report highlighted that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia had engaged in extensive discussions about Stone's sentencing. Barr was initially uninvolved until he learned through media reports that the prosecutors' recommendations contradicted prior discussions with U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea. Following this revelation, Barr insisted on a correction to the memo, which occurred shortly before Trump tweeted about the case. Ultimately, Stone was sentenced to three years in prison, but his sentence was commuted by Trump in July 2020, and he received a full pardon in December of the same year. Barr did not participate in the investigation's interview process.