Roger Stone (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Robert Mueller got him, you guys.
Oh, not President Trump, who Mueller let off the hook by refusing to indict or call for the indictment of a president he found to commit multiple acts of obstruction of justice. Not Donald Trump Jr., who Mueller shamefully refused to question or prosecute. No, the last gasp of the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election ended today with the conviction of Roger Stone, a Trump aide and longtime professional troll. Stone was convicted on seven counts of witness tampering and lying to Congress. Good job, Bobby Mulls, you prosecuted the sizzle, but not the steak. I hope you’re happy with yourself.
To do a quick, non-comprehensive recap of Russia-probe criminality: Donald Trump’s campaign CEO, Paul Manafort, has been convicted of financial crimes; Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen has been convicted of lying to Congress to cover up campaign finance violations; Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to investigators; Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has pleaded guilty of lying to investigators; Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was convicted of lying to investigators; and now Trump confidant and fluffer, Roger Stone, has been convicted of lying to investigators and tampering with witnesses.
The common thread here seems to be that they all lied to investigators ON BEHALF OF DONALD TRUMP. And yet, somehow, Donald Trump has not been charged for his conduct. Legally speaking, Mueller and the Republicans would apparently have us believe that all these people independently decided to lie, FOR NO REASON, about conduct done at the behest of Donald Trump. If you believe that all these men are guilty but Trump is somehow innocent, I have a bridge to sell you that is due for some traffic problems.
Trump, for his part, isn’t even defending Stone’s conduct. He’s just making the useless and false argument that other people ALSO LIE to Congress and are not in jail:
“But, what about [X]” IS NOT A DEFENSE. And it’s weird that Trump isn’t even trying to challenge the ruling that Stone lied to Mueller, because if Stone lied to investigators it ALSO PROVES Trump lied to investigators. Stone’s conviction should be the start of a new round of inquiry into the president’s perjury and obstruction of justice, not the end of that inquiry.
But I guess Trump is just going to get away with it. Roger Stone will now join Cohen and Manafort in jail while their benefactor, Donald Trump, remains free.
Stone’s convictions carries with them a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. But Stone, a 67-year-old non-violent offender, is unlikely to get anything close to that. He will be released until his sentencing in February, and I wouldn’t expect him to get more than 10 years, at the absolute top-end, and I’d put the over/under at 7.5.
A “light” sentence for Stone will piss a lot of people off, and I appreciate that. Stone is a bad guy who lied about a serious investigation and jauntily flaunted authorities while doing it. His activities played a key role in bringing about the election of a bigoted misogynist and, seeing as that president is unlikely to be held accountable, the impulse will be to make sure Stone spends every last day of his natural life in lock-up. For sure, if Stone does end up dying in jail, I will not cry about it.
But, I caution people to remember the justice equities involved in this case. As Vito Corleone might say: “Stone is a pimp. He never could have outfought the entire criminal justice system. It was Trump all along.” The problem is Trump. The criminal is Trump. The threat to American democracy is Trump. Stone is a henchman. He should be punished, but no amount of punishment now will do anything about Donald Trump.
And a particularly harsh sentence will not further deter current Trump henchmen from lying to protect Trump, more than they already are. I subscribe to the belief that “jail” is bad, but there are diminishing marginal returns for “more jail” when it comes to deterrence. U.S. Envoy to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, surely noted Stone’s conviction today. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney noticed too. These men are on notice that if you lie for Trump, somebody will eventually come for you, even if your boss remains free. Sondland and Mulvaney should now be on notice that they must choose their words carefully if they want to avoid jail.
If Stone gets 20 years, instead of 10, it’s not like Sondland and Mulvaney will be “more” worried. I just do not think that they’re sitting at home thinking “Yo, I’m totally willing to do 10 years for Trump, but 20, come on, that’s just crazy talk.” Trump’s henchmen who are currently free should be scared straight by Trump’s henchmen who are currently incarcerated. If they’re not already intimidated by the threat of incarceration, the threat of additional incarceration is unlikely to change their behavior.
Again, if Stone has to ask permission to take a piss for the rest of his life, that would also be okay. But Stone was never the point. We can’t forget that, as Mueller apparently did.
Roger Stone guilty on all counts in federal trial of lying to Congress, witness tampering [Washington Post]