Feb 12, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump on possible Roger Stone pardon: "I don't want to say that yet"

Orion Rummler

This image is a screenshot of Trump on Fox News with the caption saying he doesn't yet know if he'll pardon Stone — Screenshot: Fox News

President Trump declined to confirm Wednesday whether he is considering a pardon for his former associate Roger Stone, instead railing against prosecutors for treating Stone "horribly" and attacking former top FBI officials like James Comey and Andrew McCabe.

"I don't want to say that yet, but I will tell you what, people were hurt viciously and badly by these corrupt people. ... Nine years for doing something where nobody can even define what he did. ... We have killers, we have murderers all over the place, nothing happens. And then they put a man in jail and destroy his life.

Reality check: Stone was convicted by a jury on seven counts related to lying about his efforts to learn when WikiLeaks would publish damaging emails about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

The big picture: Trump congratulated Attorney General Bill Barr on Wednesday for intervening in Stone's case and overruling career prosecutors who requested that the former Trump adviser serve 7–9 years in prison. The intervention has prompted allegations of political interference, despite Trump and the Justice Department insisted that they did not coordinate the move.

Go deeper: Trump congratulates Barr after prosecutors resign from Roger Stone case

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Trump on possible Roger Stone pardon: "I don't want to say that yet"

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