Roger Stone prosecutors quit as Justice Department slashes recommended sentence after Trump criticism
- They had been seeking seven to nine years in jail for US president’s ally, who was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering
- Trump tweeted Justice Department later cut recommendation to three to four years in prison
All four US government prosecutors who backed a long prison stay for Trump ally Roger Stone resigned from the case, a stunning rebuke after the Justice Department cut its recommended sentence by more than half.
In court filings to the judge who will sentence Stone, the four prosecutors announced their withdrawal from the team that won a conviction of Stone for lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed and Michael Marando quit the case, and Jonathan Kravis quit his job as an assistant US attorney.
The resignations came as the Justice Department reduced its calculation of the amount of time Stone should serve in prison – from a range of seven to nine years, to a range of three to four years.
The prosecutors left their post just hours after the Justice Department signalled it was rethinking its original recommendation. Hours earlier, President Trump had criticised the request for seven to nine years.
“The idea of our president interfering with the criminal justice system in such a way is extraordinary and frightening,” said Sharon McCarthy, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor now in private practice. The lawyers are “absolutely doing the right thing”, she said.