A witness in Roger Stone’s trial is standing by the prosecutors who withdrew from the case, alleging that President Trump targeted the prosecutors with a “vile smear job.”
Activist and radio host Randy Credico, who has known Stone for years, took to Twitter Wednesday to criticize the president after the Justice Department asked the court to decrease the recommended seven-to-nine-year sentence.
Four prosecutors on Stone’s case resigned following the recommendation, prompting questions about potential White House interference in the suggested sentencing.
“As the son of a man who spent 10 years in prison, I have consistantly opposed incarceration,” he posted. “That being said, Trump’s vile smear job on the 4 DC prosecutors were appalling and ominous. In my experience, I found them to be professional, moral, ethical and non partisan.”
Credico had previously pleaded to Obama-appointed D.C. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson that Stone would not be sent to jail after he was convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress and witness tampering.
“I understand that Roger Stone has broken federal laws, but a prison sentence is beyond what is required in this case,” Credico, who cited his father’s experience in prison, wrote. “It is not justice. It is cruelty.”
The White House and a member of Stone’s legal team did not immediately return requests for comment.
During the trial, prosecutors revealed evidence showing Stone threatened Credico multiple times not to comply with the congressional investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The president and the Justice Department are facing backlash after the department told Jackson the prosecutors’ original recommendation “does not accurately reflect the Department of Justice’s position” and said the sentence should last “far less” time.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for an “emergency hearing” Wednesday after the Justice Department backtracked on the original suggested sentence. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has also requested an investigation.