Call it "abuse of power" or a crisis of credibility in the US political system -- President Donald Trump went ahead and commuted the sentence of his friend and advisor Roger Stone. The White House in a statement was vocal in denouncing the judgement by the federal prosecutors who had found Stone guilty of meddling with credible facts that were being probed in connection with the involvement of Russian government in Trump's election campaign of 2016.
A statement acquitting Stone off the charges read: "He has already suffered a lot like many others in this case. Roger Stone is a free man now," the White House announced, terming the findings by the prosecutors into the investigation as "Russian hoax," reported AP. Stone, who was partying with his friends in Georgia on Friday, said that the President had told him that his trial was unfair.
Trump has commuted Stone's sentence as ruled by the prosecutors in November last year. The President had earlier this year approached the US Attorney General William Barr who also termed the initial findings of prosecutors "baseless" and "hoax."
While the White House never clearly disagreed that Stone had committed the crimes, in its statement it said, "if Special Counsel Robert Mueller had not been pursuing the absolutely baseless probe, Stone wouldn't stand charged."
However, many prominent personalities in the US including the Republicans have condemned Trump's action and called it injustice to the system.
In a series of tweets, Kyle Cheney, Congress reporter at White House for 'Politico' shared a picture of the statement by Appeal's court that denied stay as pleaded by Stone on his sentencing. Here's the tweet:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) who worked to prepare the Mueller's report with the ACS (American Constitution Society) tweeted:
Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee tweeted:
Cheri Jacobus, the Executive Producer of "America Reads The Mueller Report' shared tweets by Quinta Jurecic – a writer who also contributes to The Atlantic. Here are a few shocking tweets that claim conversations between Michael Cohen and Trump:
Vocal against President's favoritism, the US Senate from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar tweeted:
Quite a handful of representatives spoke for Trump, which includes Lindsay Graham, the US Senate candidate with over 1.7 million followers. He called the alleged crimes registered against Stone as "first time offence" in his tweet:
Editor of Washington Post, Ruth Marcus spoke for the people who elect their representatives. Here's the thread:
The move is not well received by those in Intelligence and the Capitol Hill. Adam Schiff, the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman said, "Trump's move made it clear that there are two systems for justice in America: One foe his criminal friends, and the other for everyone else [sic]."
Democrat Tom Perez criticized Trump's action and called out Americans to exercise their franchise for Joe Biden. He tweeted:
Stone who stood accused until his sentence was commuted by Trump, was about to start his 40 months imprisonment from Tuesday, but was spotted partying, and still lobbying for Trump in Florida.
