Holy crap is Roger Stone ever screwed
When Roger Stone was convicted on seven felony counts, Palmer Report said this meant that he would likely spend the rest of his life in prison. Considering his advanced age, and the rate at which prison ages people, and the fact that he’ll have to do his time in solitary confinement, even a sentence of a couple years would effectively be a life sentence. Now prosecutors have made their sentencing recommendation, and it’s a doozy.
In new court filings today, federal prosecutors are calling for Roger Stone to get seven to nine years in prison. If Judge Amy Berman Jackson agrees with them and gives him a sentence this long, then Stone will never taste freedom again. Even if she only gives him half that long in prison, it’s very likely a life sentence.
Keep in mind that unlike the judge who tried (and ultimately failed) to give Paul Manafort an absurdly short sentence, Judge Jackson has routinely shown herself to be reasonable. We don’t know how many years she’ll give Roger Stone, but we do know he’s going to be totally screwed.
Also keep in mind that, despite how much the pundits might yell around about Donald Trump magically pardoning everyone, that’s not a real thing. Trump has shown no inclination to take the risk of pardoning his co-conspirators, presumably for fear of triggering a court ruling that could ultimately prevent him from trying to pardon himself. Even if Trump were to pardon Roger Stone on federal charges, New York State would take advantage of Stone’s status as a part-time New York City resident, and bring state level charges against him that Trump can’t pardon.
