President Trump is thanking the Justice Department for intervening in the Roger Stone case. Talking to reporters at the White House, Trump said his longtime ally “has been treated very badly” and called the case a “hoax” and a “disgrace.” As you might recall, Stone was found guilty in November of witness tampering and lying to Congress.
What about a pardon? Trump says he’s not ready to say whether he would consider it. As we told you yesterday, federal prosecutors recommended a seven-to-nine year sentence for Stone, but the Justice Department intervened. In protest, the four prosecutors quit the case – and one of those also resigned his job at the Justice Department. Trump said they should “consider going back to school.”
Meanwhile, the Democrats are furious about the Justice Department's intrusion – and spoke out on the Senate floor – while others are demanding an investigation. To that end, Attorney General William Barr has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on March 31st.
Barr isn't expected to dive deep into the current morass surrounding the Stone case. While he is expected to address the Stone case, he’s also set to talk about the removal of a U.S. attorney who oversaw a number of sensitive cases that grew out of Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Source: White House