Rep. Stefanik denies allegations made by Roger Stone that she lobbied against his clemency
New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik says she does not discuss pardons with President Trump.
New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik on Friday denied Roger Stone’s claim that she lobbied against the commutation of his prison sentence by President Trump.
“I have not advocated for any pardoning issues with the president. I believe, constitutionally, any issues of pardoning are the president’s decision to make and I support the president’s choice,” Stefanik told “America’s Newsroom.”
Stefanik said that the Stone case highlights how corrupt the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller was.
“It's very concerning to the American people to now see that many of the top aides who were part of the Mueller investigation are donating, actively working to campaign for Joe Biden," she said. "These are also the same people who were donating and actively campaigning for Hillary Clinton."
TRUMP COMMUTES ROGER STONE SENTENCE
The Justice Department on Monday released Trump’s clemency order for Stone, a longtime GOP operative, showing the president not only wiped away Stone’s prison sentence but also a period of supervised release and a fine.
Earlier in the day, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the government to explain the “scope” of Trump’s commutation of Stone, which was announced Friday. In February, Jackson sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison, along with 24 months of supervised release and a $20,000 fine.
The document shows that Trump’s order commuted everything.
“I commute the entirety of the prison sentence imposed upon the said ROGER JASON STONE, JR. to expire immediately; I also commute the entirety of the two-year term of supervised release with all its conditions; and finally, I remit any unpaid remainder of the $20,000 fine imposed,” Trump says in the order.
The earlier filing, signed by Jackson, requesting the executive order commuting Stone's sentence, comes after the White House announced Friday that the president signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting what they called the “unjust sentence” of Stone. It came just days before the longtime political operative was slated to report to prison to serve more than three years for charges stemming from Mueller’s investigation.
Stone was set to report to prison on July 14 to serve 40 months. He was sentenced in February to more than three years in prison after being convicted in November 2019 on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress. Stone, however, has appealed his conviction and continues to deny any wrongdoing.
In a statement to Fox News, Stone's attorney Grant Smith said: "Mr. Stone is incredibly honored that President Trump used his awesome and unique power under the Constitution of the United States for this act of mercy.”
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Stefanik said that Stone’s commutation is a decision that presidents have to make because the U.S. constitution authorizes it.
"I have not advocated on any pardoning issues to the president," she said. "I have always advocate for issues important to my district. The conversations I've had with the president have been focused on support for rural hospitals [and] our needs in the north."
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