JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/ROGER STONE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Four prosecutors abruptly withdrew on Tuesday [2-11-20] from the case of President Trump’s longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. after senior Justice Department officials intervened to recommend a more lenient sentence for crimes he committed in a bid to protect the president. In an extraordinary decision overruling career lawyers, the Justice Department recommended an unspecified term of incarceration for Mr. Stone instead of the prosecutors’ request of a punishment of seven to nine years. The move coincided with Mr. Trump’s declaration on Twitter early Tuesday that the government was treating Mr. Stone too harshly. The development immediately prompted questions about whether the Justice Department was bending to White House pressure.”
–Katie Benner, Sharon LaFraniere and Adam Goldman, “Prosecutors Quit Roger Stone Case After Justice Dept. Intervenes on Sentencing,” The New York Times online, February 11, 2020