Utah Sen. Mitt Romney posted a scathing condemnation of President Donald Trump on Saturday morning after Trump commuted the sentence of his former adviser Roger Stone. Stone was just days away from entering prison for witness tampering and lying to the U.S. Congress in the president’s impeachment trial. Romney called this “unprecedented, historic corruption.”
“An American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,” Romney marveled in his early morning tweet. The senator and former Republican presidential hopeful has been one of the most outspoken voices against Trump in his own political party for the last few years, and particularly in recent months. Romney even voted to convict the president of abuse of power during his impeachment trial — a symbolic vote, making him the first U.S. Senator ever to vote to convict a president of his own party during an impeachment trial.
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Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 11, 2020
Romney was the first prominent Republican to criticize the president for commuting Stone’s sentence, and so far most others seem to be standing behind him on this issue. Sen. Lindsey G Graham tweeted his support for the move on Friday, and Rep. Jim Jones of Ohio did the same.
That is not to say that Romney is alone in being horrified by this latest move by Trump. On Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders praised Romney for standing against this move, voicing his own belief that this is an act of corruption.
“Mitt Romney and I hold different opinions on virtually everything. But I agree with him strongly that Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence is ‘unprecedented, historic corruption. The key political question of our time is: where are all the other Republicans?” Sander tweeted. “Trump commutes Roger Stone’s sentence, while Black and Brown kids sit in jail. This is why we need major reform of a broken and racist criminal justice system. No more two-tier justice. Rich or poor, Black, white or Latino — we need ‘equal justice under law.’”
Trump himself defended his decision to commute Stone’s sentence on Saturday after it was announced by his press secretary on Friday night. He tweeted: “Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaign – AND GOT CAUGHT!”
So far, Trump has not responded to the criticism from Romney or others for commuting Stone’s sentence. He has, however, retweeted some support from political pundits.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
