Although the end of Roger Stone's trial was marked by the departure of the federal prosecutors who oversaw it because they disagreed with a last-minute change in sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Trump's lifelong henchman to over three year in federal prison this morning.
Announcing her decision, Judge Jackson read Stone for trash and reminded the court that Stone once literally placed a target on her head on social media.
Jackson angrily denied that Stone was being punished for his politics or his allies. “He was not prosecuted, as some have claimed, for standing up for the president. He was prosecuted for covering up for the president,” she said.
She said during the hearing that Stone’s use of social media to stoke public sentiment against the prosecution and the court was intended to reach a wide audience, including using a photo of Jackson with crosshairs superimposed.
“This is intolerable to the administration of justice,” Jackson said.
Likely understanding that Trump could pardon or otherwise commute Stone's sentence, Judge Jackson also pointed out that Stone was charged and convicted for lying to Congress while Congress was completely controlled by Republicans, not Democrats.
Stone will not immediately report to prison while his request for a new trial is pending, but Judge Jackson will also decide if Stone will be granted a new trial so it's not clear how likely that is.