President Trump may well have just saved his life, an elated and relieved Roger Stone told The Post moments after learning his sentence was commuted — from Trump himself.
“I’m obviously very pleased,” Stone, 67, said shortly after Trump called his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home with the good news on Friday night.
The reprieve came just days before Stone was to turn himself in on Tuesday to begin serving a 40-month sentence.
“I told him I was grateful,” Stone told The Post of his chat with the president.
“He protected my health.”
Roger Stone reacts outside his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home tonight after President Trump commuted his federal prison sentence (Reuters)
Stone added, “He believes in justice. I felt pretty confident that if he heard the facts of my case, he would make the right decision.
During their call, Trump, in turn, cited their long friendship and his belief that Stone is not a criminal.
“He said we’ve known each other for 40 years,” Stone said.
“In his opinion, he did not believe I committed a crime.”
Stone said he can now appeal his case from the safety of his South Florida home, without the danger of catching the coronavirus while in prison.
Roger Stone, a longtime friend and adviser of U.S. President Donald Trump, reacts after Trump commuted his federal prison sentence outside his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. July 10, 2020. REUTERS/ (Reuters)
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“With the risk of catching COVID, I might not live long enough to see my opinion” in his appeal, he said.
Stone, who has been under home confinement for some two years, said he would spend Friday night celebrating with friends — all of them wearing “Free Roger Stone” face masks.
Then, “starting now, I’m working to help General Flynn,” he said of his future efforts to lobby for former national security adviser and fellow Trump adviser Michael Flynn, who is awaiting sentence for admittedly lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.
Stone had said Thursday that he was “praying” Trump would keep him out of prison.
Stone was sentenced in February by DC federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson 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.
The charges were lodged after special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
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Stone appealed his conviction and has continued to deny that he did anything wrong.
This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
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