Rain showers this morning with a steady, soaking rain during the afternoon hours. Increasing winds. High 61F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..
Tonight
Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 51F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday demanded more information about President Donald Trump's decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered that the parties provide her by Tuesday with a copy of the executive order that commuted Stone's sentence. She also asked for clarity about the scope of the clemency, including whether it covers just his prison sentence or also the two-year period of supervised release that was part of his sentence.
Trump commuted Stone's 40-month prison sentence on Friday evening, just days before he was to report to prison. Stone was convicted as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation with making false statements, tampering with a witness and obstructing lawmakers who were examining Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Although presidents have broad authority to commute prison sentences and issue pardons, the brief order from Jackson — who presided over Stone's trial last year — makes clear the judge still is seeking information and clarity about the clemency, including the actual executive order from the White House.
In a separate case, a federal judge has resisted the Justice Department's request to dismiss the criminal case against Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, even though Flynn pleaded guilty during Mueller's investigation to lying to the FBI.
Democrats lambasted Trump's decision as having undermined the rule of law, and Mueller himself defended the Stone prosecution in a Washington Post opinion piece in which he said Stone "remains a convicted felon, and rightly so."
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.