Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) raged after news broke that President Trump commuted Roger Stone’s prison sentence, stating that the president will “ensure all his crooked friends” are free to “commit fraud,” “do dirty deals” with Russia, and “commit treason” before he leaves office.
“No surprise! Trump commutes Roger Stone’s sentence. B4 Trump leaves office, he’ll ensure all his crooked friends are free to launder $, commit fraud, do dirty deals w/ Russians, tax evasion, commit treason, & sell out our democracy!” the California lawmaker exclaimed.
“Dems impeached, Rep Senators failed to remove!” she added:
News of the president’s decision broke Friday evening, as Breitbart News reported:
A source familiar with the matter told Breitbart News that the president called Stone earlier Friday to tell him of his plans to commute his sentence. Stone confirmed to the Associated Press that President Trump called to say that he would commute his sentence that was part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into now-debunked collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. The Associated Press added: “Stone was celebrating in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with conservative friends and said he had to change rooms because there were “too many people opening bottles of Champagne here.”
…
Stone was convicted of making false statements during a 2017 testimony to the House Intelligence Committee regarding his relationship with WikiLeaks and witness tampering in a congressional investigation. He has been out on bail since his February sentencing. Though a commutation will mean no prison time for Stone, his conviction still stands.
“Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency,” the White House said in a statement, emphasizing that there was “never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia.”
The White House added that Stone would be “put at serious medical risk in prison” and added that he has “appealed his conviction and is seeking a new trial.”
“He maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system,” the White House added.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also soured at Trump commuting Stone, calling it “appalling.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) expressed frustration on social media Saturday, writing, “Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president”: