A federal judge has granted long-time Republican campaign consultant Roger Stone an extra two weeks before having to report to prison for his conviction in special council Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted extension to Stone, a Florida resident who originally was to report to begin serving his three-year, four-month sentence in April but was delayed due to concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak, TheHill.com reported.
"This will address the defendant's stated medical concerns during the current increase of reported cases in Florida, and Broward County in particular, and it will respect and protect the health of other inmates who share the defendant's anxiety over the potential introduction and spread of the virus at this now-unaffected facility," Jackson said in her brief order.
Stone requested to postpone his reporting to prison until September because of personal health issues.
The Department of Justice had no objections.
Jackson questioned why the Justice Department was agreeing to Stone’s request in light of allegations that Stone was receiving preferential treatment due to his friendship with President Donald Trump. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington said it was merely following guidelines to not oppose reasonable delays due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Stone was charged with lying to the FBI, obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering following the raid, the result of Mueller’s investigation into a possible conspiracy between Russian officials and Trump’s 2016 campaign. It found no evidence the conspiracy existed.
Prosecutors in the case withdrew in February when their recommendation of a seven-to-nine-year sentence was overruled by the Justice Department as too harsh.
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