President Donald Trump continues to ignore Attorney General Bill Barr’s threat of resigning if he continues to tweet about Justice Dept. cases. Barely hours after a judge sentenced the president’s longtime confidant Roger Stone to a mere 40 months in jail Trump announced he believes Stone has a “very good chance of exoneration,” presumably on appeal – unless he is planning a pardon, which is not exoneration, although Trump apparently does not know that.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson made clear he does not, and all but bullet proofed her sentencing decision.
Now experts and others are predicting Trump will pardon Stone, possibly soon.
The president has already had Jared Stone and Pam Bondi remove the pardon process from the DOJ, enveloping it into their own portfolios.
The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker warned on MSNBC Thursday afternoon that Trump “is looking for ways to lash out” because he is so angry that his enemies, including Jim Comey and Andrew McCabe, were never charged with crimes (they never committed crimes) and he wants to “protect his own friends.”
“We’re obviously awaiting to hear about the president pardoning Roger Stone, which certainly appears likely,” Rucker stated.
NBC News and MSNBC Legal Analyst Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said, “Trump issuing a pardon for somebody like Roger Stone looks like one thing and one thing only: obstruction of justice.”
Here’s what some other legal experts are saying:
Former FBI Special Agent and lawyer:
POLITICO senior reporter:
Former senior advisor to President Barack Obama:
Former U.S. Attorney:
Former federal prosecutor: