The judge overseeing the trial of Roger Stone, a former advisor for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, said that she would not delay the sentencing of Stone.
In a phone call with Stone’s defense team and prosecutors on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Stone’s sentencing would occur as scheduled on Thursday — despite calls from Stones’ lawyers for a new trial.
“I think that delaying this sentence would not be a prudent thing to do under all of the circumstances.”
Jackson’s decision comes amid controversy stemming from the recommended prison sentencing for Stone. On Feb. 10, the original prosecutors in the case recommended Stone receive seven to nine years in prison after he was convicted on charges of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.
But the next day, Justice Department officials said that recommendation was “extreme and unwarranted” and recommended a lighter sentence.
The decision to call for a lighter sentence led the prosecutors in the case to resign, a move which was largely seen as a protest of the decision to recommend a lighter sentence.
Meanwhile, Stone’s defense team has requested that their client receive a new trial. It’s not clear what his lawyers cited as a reason for a new trial. However, it could be related to news that the foreperson of the jury in the case, Tomeka Hart, made several anti-Trump comments on social media.
Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said he believes Stone should be given a new trial in light of Hart’s newly uncovered social media posts.
However, Jackson did not say whether she would hold a hearing on the motion for a new trial. But she said she would proceed with the sentencing and delay the execution of it until the question of a new trial is settled.
Trump appeared to suggest that he believes Stone should receive a new trial when he shared Napolitano’s comments in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning.
