Political operative and former Trump adviser Roger Stone on Thursday filed an appeal of his conviction for lying to federal investigators in the Mueller investigation.
Stone’s attorneys did not offer any arguments directly disputing his guilt or three-year prison sentence, but argued that Judge Amy Jackson had improperly dismissed Stone’s request for a retrial.
That request was based on revelations that jury forewoman Tomeka Hart had not informed the court about social media posts on the Mueller investigation that were critical of President Trump. Jackson ruled earlier this month that Hart had not lied to the court, and that Stone’s defense team could have found the posts during jury selection but did not research Hart’s social media background.
Stone would have been required to report to prison in May or June. However, due to his appeal and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Stone will most likely wait to begin serving time.
President Trump has not yet indicated whether he would pardon his former adviser.
“I’m not going to do anything in terms of the great powers bestowed upon a president of the United States. I want the process to play out,” Trump said in February. “I think that is the best thing to do. Because I would love to see Roger exonerated, and I would love to see it happen.”
In February, Justice Department prosecutors initially recommended a sentence of seven to nine years. Trump wrote on Twitter that the recommendation was unfair, and shortly afterwards Attorney General William Barr stepped in and reduced the recommendation, following which all four DOJ prosecutors assigned to the Stone case resigned. Trump congratulated Barr for “taking charge” of the case, but Barr subsequently rebuked Trump’s comments.
“I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,” Barr told ABC at the time.