Feb 21, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Nearly half of Republicans support pardoning Roger Stone

Marisa Fernandez

45% of Republicans — a plurality — support President Trump pardoning Roger Stone, who was sentenced this week to 40 months in prison for crimes unearthed by the Mueller investigation, according to a YouGov poll.

Why it matters: While it's still not clear whether Trump will actually move to pardon Stone, the fact that he has a plurality of his party on board regarding the issue should only serve to enforce the president's growing sense of self-confidence following his impeachment acquittal.

By the numbers: Overall 57% of American adults believe Stone should not be pardoned, while 21% say he should be and 22% say they are unsure.

76% of Democrats say Trump should not pardon him. Only 29% of Republicans believe the same.

The backdrop: Stone was sentenced for crimes that include obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering after hiding his efforts to learn more about when WikiLeaks would publish damaging emails about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

Stone's case has been at the heart of ongoing tensions between Trump and his Justice Department — especially Attorney General Bill Barr's frustration with the president's tweets.
Trump claimed that he "hadn't given [pardoning Stone] any thought" when asked about the possibility after he granted clemency to nearly a dozen individuals earlier this week.

Methodology: 8,877 U.S. adults were surveyed on Feb. 21.

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Nearly half of Republicans support pardoning Roger Stone

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