About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2020)
TODAYS TOP HEADLINES The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Friday, February 21,2020 3A Stone sentenced to prison Trump ally faces over 3 years from charges made in Mueller investigation BY ASHRAF KHALIL, MARK SHERMAN AND MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON - Trump loyalist Roger Stone was sen tenced Thursday to more than three years in federal prison, following an extraor dinary move by Attorney General William Barr to back off his Justice Depart ment’s original sentencing recommendation. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Stone’s crimes demanded a significant time behind bars, but she said the seven to nine years originally rec ommended by the Justice Department were excessive. Stone’s lawyers had asked for a sentence of probation, citing his age of 67 years, his health and his lack of crimi nal history. Instead, he drew 40 months. Jackson also sen tenced Stone to two years of probation after his prison time and fined him $20,000. Stone had no immedi ate reaction in court when Jackson announced his sen tence. Later, he emerged from the courthouse to a crowd exchanging back and forth chants of “Lock him up” and “Pardon Roger Stone.” Stone got into a black SUV without speaking to reporters. His attorney Bruce Rogow said Stone and his team would “have no comment.” The judge delayed execution of his sentence while she considers Stone’s motion for a new trial. The sentencing set off a parlor game of speculation in Washington, with many wondering when — not if — President Donald Trump would grant Stone a pardon. But Trump, who issued 11 high-profile pardons earlier this week, said he was hold ing off for now. “I’m not going to do any thing in terms of the great powers bestowed upon a president of the United States,” he said during an appearance in Las Vegas. “I want the process to play out. I think that’s the best thing to do because I would love to see Roger exonerated.” But even the prospect that Trump might someday par don Stone prompted a pre emptive rebuke Thursday from critics like Democratic House Intelligence Chair man Adam Schiff of Califor nia, who tweeted after the sentencing that, “to pardon Stone when his crimes were committed to protect Trump would be a breathtaking act of corruption.” But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a staunch Trump ally, signaled early support for such a move, tweeting that Trump has “all the legal authority in the world” to MANUEL BALCE CENETAI Associated Press Roger Stone, accompanied by his wife Nydia Stone, second from left, arrives at federal court in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 20. Stone, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, faces sentencing Thursday on his convictions for witness tampering and lying to Congress. pardon Stone if he chooses. Stone was convicted in November on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump cam paign coordinated with Rus sia to tip the 2016 election. The sentence came amid Trump’s unrelenting defense of his longtime con fidant that has led to a mini revolt inside the Justice Department and allegations the president has interfered in the case. Trump took to Twitter to denounce as a “miscar riage of justice” the initial recommendation by Justice Department prosecutors that Stone receive at least seven years in prison. Attor ney General William Barr then backed off that recom mendation, prompting four prosecutors to quit Stone’s case. Jackson angrily denied that Stone was being pun ished for his politics or his allies. “He was not prosecuted, as some have claimed, for standing up for the president. He was prose cuted for covering up for the president,” she said. She said Stone’s use of social media to stoke public sentiment against the pros ecution and the court was intended to reach a wide audience, including using a photo of Jackson with cross hairs superimposed. “This is intolerable to the administration of justice,” Jackson said. She also had stern words for the new prosecution team. “Why are you the one who is standing here today?” Jackson asked federal pros ecutor John Crabb, who took over the case after the origi nal trial team quit. Crabb said there had been a “miscommunication” between Barr and Timothy Shea, the former Barr aide who now serves as the acting U.S. Attorney in the nation’s capital. Crabb asked the judge to impose “a substan tial period of incarceration.” After Stone’s attorney, Seth Ginsberg, repeated the defense team’s plea that Stone get no prison time, Stone declined to address the court. Stone was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be con victed of charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Any jail sentence seems likely to draw a public rebuke from Trump, who maintains that Stone’s entire case is just an aspect of the ongoing “witch hunt” against him and his allies by bitter Democrats and the “deep state” inside the FBI and the Justice Department. Overnight Thursday, Trump retweeted a con servative cable host’s com ment that what happened to Stone “should never happen again.” In Stone’s initial sentenc ing memorandum filed Feb. 10, prosecutors said Stone deserved a prison term last ing seven to nine years, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines. Such a sentence would send a message to deter others who might consider lying or obstructing a congressional probe or tampering with witnesses, the prosecutors said. Stone has denied wrong doing and consistently criti cized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand dur ing his trial and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defense. HULSEY PLUMBING SftfBBIJSf RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL f fU“0O0“l ID I ‘♦V PLUMBING SEPTIC WATER HEATERS DRAINS www.HulseyPlumbing.com v SINCE Our loss is Gainesuille’s GAIN! OPEN s 7 DAYS A WEEK! lM Financing Available! Come in today! ROCKING RECLINERS TWO PIECE LIVING I ROOM GROUPS STARTING 8,188 QUEEIM MATTRESS SETS FROM s 188 FROM 7 PC FULL OR QUEEN BEDROOM SETS FROM mani ( 47 °) 208-9466 ■ ■ ICTI ■■ 2307 B BROWNS BRIDGE RD, FURNITURE Gainesville, ga 30504 Prosecutors had charged in the filing that Stone “decided to double- and triple-down on his crimi nal conduct by tampering with a witness for months in order to make sure his obstruction would be successful.” “Stone’s actions were not a one-off mistake in judg ment. Nor were his false statements made in the heat of the moment. They were nowhere close to that,” prosecutors wrote in the court papers. But Justice Department officials said they were caught off guard by the rec ommendation, even though Shea, the acting U.S. Attor ney in Washington, D.C., is a former top aide to Barr. The attorney general ordered a new memorandum with a less harsh punishment, though it left provided no specifics and left the details to the judge. Barr’s decision became public just hours after Trump, in an overnight tweet, called the situation “horrible and very unfair.” He added: “Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” Grenell tapped as nation’s top intel official BY ZEKE MILLER AND MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, will become acting director of national intel ligence, a move that puts a staunch Trump ally in charge of the nation’s 17 spy agencies, which the president has only tepidly embraced. “Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.A White House statement Thursday said Grenell “is committed to a nonpolitical, nonpartisan approach” to the job. Grenell follows Joseph Maguire, who has been acting national intelligence director since August. It was unclear if Maguire would return to the National Counterterrorism Center. “I would like to thank Joe Maguire for the won derful job he has done,” Trump tweeted, “and we look forward to working with him closely, perhaps in another capacity within the Administration!” Grenell, a loyal and outspoken Trump supporter, becomes the first openly gay member of Trump’s Cabi net. He has been the U.S. ambassador to Germany since 2018. He previously served as U.S. spokesman at the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration, including under then-Ambassador John Bolton. News of the announcement was quickly criticized by those who said the job should be held by someone with deep experience in intelligence. Trump named Grenell acting national intelligence director, meaning he would not have to be confirmed by the Senate. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Trump had “selected an individual without any intelligence experi ence to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity. ” Warner also accused the president of trying to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise and consent on critical national security positions. NORTH HALL JEWELERS Most Minor Jewelry Repairs Done Same Day Watch Batteries (starting at $5) Goldsmith since 1979 We Buy Gold ^Private Appointments Available 1062 Thompson Bridge Road, Ste A-1 Gainesville, GA 678-450-7111 SUNDAY, FEB. 16 - SATURDAY, FEB. 22 FLIGHT Help this Restaurant become Flight Week Certified by doing the following: 1. Check in on their Facebook Page 2. Post your pictures and tag them on Instagram and/or Facebook 3. Enter our Instagram Contest! (see below) Flight Restaurant Week Instagram Contest Eat good food, tell your friends about it and you could win $100. 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