Chuck Schumer has sent a letter to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz formally requesting an investigation into the reduced sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone who was convicted in federal court for obstructing Congress and witness tampering. https://t.co/2lsahjncwg— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 12, 2020
You can have the rule of law. Or you can have the Trump presidency. Not both. And it's getting worse after each time Trump is caught and enabled by his corrupt cabinet and supine Senators. https://t.co/Afd1OVuvim— David Frum (@davidfrum) February 12, 2020
Do you realize intimidating judges is the behavior of failed-state fascists? Just asking! https://t.co/kcEzirsGUF— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 12, 2020
Don't think I've ever seen a former political candidate trash a sitting President like this. Not without good reason, though.
All starting to unravel with the ridiculous 9 year sentence recommendation! https://t.co/6baxv3Lvuk— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2020
Yeah, about that:
The prosecutors in the Stone case asked for a Guidelines sentence—-that is standard operating procedure for defendants who don’t cooperate.— Carissa Byrne Hessick (@CBHessick) February 12, 2020
Those guidelines are harsh. And we should change them. But let’s not pretend the career prosecutors did anything unusual here. https://t.co/ir5oIyP4fS
And let us also remember:
This might be obvious but it bears repeating. The Roger Stone case and the Michael Flynn case originated in the Special Counsel’s Office, under regulations designed to make it difficult for political appointees—who might favor the politician who appointed them—to interfere.— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 12, 2020
Pay attention to that; it's an important point going forward, though it may get lost in all the shouting.
For those who think Trump wants to pardon Stone, please note he's never pardoned Manafort or Flynn. Trump was in direct contact with them; he was also in direct contact with Stone:
Reminder that Roger Stone was seen by Bannon et al. on the Trump campaign as the conduit for not public information from Wikileaks about the (Russia-enabled) hack of Democrats and the Clinton team. His contact on the campaign was Trump himself. https://t.co/1OfzHkQwIn— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) February 11, 2020
Trump will not take responsibility for pardoning Stone, anymore than he will for Manafort or Flynn. He wants it done by others; or he just wants a rallying cry for his 11,000 rally attendees:
Trump claims there were “probably 40 or 50,000 people” at a rally in New Hampshire that was attended by 11,000 people pic.twitter.com/0VBRN2H7k8— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2020
Then again, he also says he has absolute power:
Asked about Roger Stone, Trump says he has an “absolute right” to tell the Justice Department what to do pic.twitter.com/AZRv9Aff7P— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2020
Narrator: He doesn't.
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) February 12, 2020
Today’s events represent as serious a moment as I have seen in 13+ years covering the Justice Department. The alarm coming from Democrats and Republicans who served there is remarkable. (The photo is from a pretrial court appearance by Roger Stone.) pic.twitter.com/uTFTX0uLHB— Carrie Johnson (@johnson_carrie) February 12, 2020
William Barr is taking control of multiple cases of interest to Trump, NBC News reports.— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 12, 2020
One former US attorney calls it a "political infestation" of DOJ: https://t.co/UmIQY09sC7
Not even trying to hide it anymore. https://t.co/IfDZxLFOsk
Trump is interested in corruption; but only in corruption that benefits Trump.
Who are the four prosecutors (Mueller people?) who cut and ran after being exposed for recommending a ridiculous 9 year prison sentence to a man that got caught up in an investigation that was illegal, the Mueller Scam, and shouldn’t ever even have started? 13 Angry Democrats?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2020
The judge has the power (as demonstrated in the census cases from late last year) to interrogate these lawyers before allowing them to leave the case, and to impose the sentence as she sees fit. Judge Jackson is most unlikely to look at this new filing:
Unreal https://t.co/50QjXI0TNz— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 12, 2020
And like the proverbial goose, declare it a brand new day with no awareness of any other filing, and examine this request as if no other ever been submitted.
Will Trump overturn then overturn any sentence with a pardon? He's sure making a lot of effort not to have to do that.
This might be obvious but it bears repeating. The Roger Stone case and the Michael Flynn case originated in the Special Counsel’s Office, under regulations designed to make it difficult for political appointees—who might favor the politician who appointed them—to interfere.— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 12, 2020
If it isn't clear by now, this is as bad as it gets:
If I agree that your take on the “real” story out of NH is the right one, can I then maybe convince you to pay attention to the foundations of the rule of law collapsing before our eyes? https://t.co/7b9VZYGcW0— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) February 12, 2020
Like, "Time For Major Reforms" bad:
Any more of this, we'll have to rename it the "Injustice Department." I wish that was more than just a bad joke.That was the shot. Now here's the chaser:— Jed Shugerman (@jedshug) February 12, 2020
Over the past century, more Attorneys General have been cronies than professionals.
I have studied many horrible AGs. William Barr is a new low.
It is time to make the DOJ formally independent from the president.https://t.co/ubyQZMJop5
I wonder if Trump wants to preserve their ability to take the fifth if they are subpoenaed to testify against him. I suspect that's why he has pardoned criminals who he wasn't directly involved with, otherwise he might have pardoned Epstein.
ReplyDelete