Trump ally Roger Stone appeals sentence
April 30, 2020
Roger Stone, convicted of lying to the United States Congress and witness tampering in November, submitted an appeal for his three-year prison sentence on Thursday.
His lawyers filed a notice of appeal of his sentence and of a judge's order denying a request for a new trial based on Stone's accusations of jury bias.
Stone, a longtime confidant of US President Donald Trump, was convicted on all seven counts against him, including lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into whether Trump's 2016 presidential campaign coordinated with Russia.
Read more: Why the Mueller report will not end Trump's predicament
After his conviction, Stone accused the jury forewoman of bias and petitioned for a new trial. His lawyers also claimed misconduct after some on the jury spoke out publicly following the case. The presiding judge called nearly all the jurors back in a highly unusual move.
Stone remains free as he awaits a date to surrender to the federal prison system, which has seen outbreaks of the new coronavirus. He was the sixth Trump aid or adviser to be convicted as part of Mueller's investigation into Russian tampering during the 2016 US presidential election.
Tweeting support
Trump on Thursday tweeted his support for Stone, suggesting his ally was treated unfairly and reiterating Stone's jury bias claims.
The US president also defended Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2017.
On Wednesday, Flynn's lawyers released internal FBI emails and handwritten notes that claimed to show the bureau was trying to entrap him when he was questioned at the White House three years ago. Flynn has sought to withdraw his 2017 guilty plea.
Trump has long considered pardoning Flynn, a former lieutenant general in the US army who briefly served as Trump's National Security Advisor.
dv/sms (AP)
DW sends out a daily selection of hard news and quality feature journalism. Sign up here.