1/ The statement accompanying Roger Stone's commutation is a piece of work, even for Trump. The full text is worth a read. Here are the final sentences, where Trump plays the role of a defense lawyer who has won an acquittal for his client. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regarding-executive-grant-clemency-roger-stone-jr/

2/ The opening of the statement is equally detestable. Presidents take an oath to uphold the Constitution, but Trump, as he has all along, dismisses Russia's interference in our 2016 election as a hoax. The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into it & rightly so.

3/ Forgive me, but who writes like this? It's ridiculous. Unfortunately, it also comes from the President's office. Of course, it's untrue & there was evidence of collusion altho Mueller concluded, not of criminal conspiracy.

4/ Trump has consistently characterized serious offenses like perjury & obstruction of justice, which go to the integrity of the criminal justice system, as “process offenses,” as though that makes them less important. Trump would undermine serious crimes to serve himself.

5/ More likely, it was the fact investigators had evidence Stone was transmitting highly accurate information about Wikileaks/Russia’s efforts to help Trump to the campaign. And Stone & others were clearly lying about it. Also, If anything, the Mueller team was most unsplashy.

6/ The 1st graph concludes with an ode to Stone's history with political candidates including President Reagan. Curiously omitted are his decades long friendship with the President & his allegiance to (& back tattoo of) President Nixon.

7/ Prosecutors are charged with finding the truth, not with manufacturing evidence. Mueller was excruciatingly & some would say too fair to Trump & co. “Stone was charged by the same prosecutors from the Mueller Investigation tasked with finding evidence of collusion w/ Russia.”

8/ This actually helps us understand why "process crimes" like perjury & obstruction are so important - they insure people can't completely get away with their crimes by lying about them or hiding the evidence.

9/ The next part of the statement rehashes complaints about Stone's arrest & jury that were fully litigated during his case & rejected by the court as unsubstantiated by evidence. They in no way indicate a pardon was necessary to correct injustice.

10/ So, does everyone at medical risk due to Covid get commutation? Either there will be lots of happy folks in BoP or Trump is pretending concern to justify corrupting the criminal justice system to help Stone. My money is on the later, but we should be releasing more people.

11/ Trump says: “Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial...The President does not wish to interfere...in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial, the President has determined to commute his sentence."

12/ Roger Stone got a fair trial. AG Barr said the prosecution & sentence were warranted. Trump has undermined the rule of law & our justice system to try to avoid whatever tales Stone might have to tell on him. He will burn down our system to save himself.

13/ Prosecutors across the country are heartsick over this miscarriage of justice. The power to end it lies with the GOP & Trump's appointees, like Barr. So far, no condemnations or resignations. History won't judge them kindly. We have our work cut out for us in November. (End)