Friday, social media was abuzz with the expectation that as early as Friday evening, President Donald J. Trump will commute the sentence of political icon Roger Stone.
Howard Fineman, an NBC News Analyst reported Friday, “Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesn’t want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him.
Stone told Fineman, “He [Trump] knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”
Fox News, indeed reported Friday, “The president, as recently as Friday morning, has said he was “looking at” offering Stone clemency, saying he was “very unfairly treated.”
Stone was set to report to prison on July 14 to serve 40 months. He was sentenced in February to more than three years in prison after being convicted in November 2019 on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress on charges that stemmed from Mueller’s investigation. Stone, however, has appealed his conviction and continues to deny any wrongdoing.”
AS SEEN AROUND TWITTER
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 10, 2020
The alert lights are "blinking red" for a possible Roger Stone commutation this afternoon…..
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/ChuckCallesto/status/1281684660486049792?s=20
https://twitter.com/joshdcaplan/status/1281685758668144641?s=20
Many people had been calling for a Presidential Pardon for Stone. The difference between a pardon and a Computation according to KIRO 7 News, “A commutation of sentence reduces a sentence, either totally or partially, according to the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. A commutation can also release a person from a fine imposed at sentencing – at least the part of the fine that has not already been paid.
