Watchdog: DOJ didn't improperly apply pressure on prosecutors to lower Roger Stone sentence

The Justice Department Office of Inspector General found that the department did not improperly apply "pressure" on federal prosecutors to lower the recommendations for the sentencing of Roger Stone, a political advisor to former President Trump, according to a report released Wednesday.

In 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Stone on "one count of obstruction of a proceeding, five counts of making false statements, and one count of witness tampering relating to the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s (HPSCI) investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election," read the report.

"After an almost 2-week trial, Stone was convicted on all seven counts—obstruction of a proceeding (one count), making false statements (five counts), and witness tampering (one count)," it also read.

The OIG found that the department’s "handling of the sentencing in the Stone case was highly unusual, including its filing of a second sentencing memorandum and DOJ leadership’s personal involvement in the preparation of that second memorandum."