Trump ally Stone headed to prison

WASHINGTON—Roger Stone, political strategist and longtime ally of President Donald Trump, will spend up to 40 months in prison on corruption charges. A jury convicted him last year of obstruction of justice, lying to Congress, and witness tampering. He allegedly tried to discover WikiLeaks’ plans to release stolen emails damaging to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign and then attempted to cover it up. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson also gave Stone a $20,000 fine and 24 months probation in addition to the prison time.

How well does the punishment fit the crime? Prosecutors initially asked for seven to nine years in prison for Stone, but Attorney General William Barr recommended a lighter sentence. Democrats accused him of caving to pressure from Trump. Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said she thought the initial recommendation was “greater than necessary,” but if Stone went unpunished, “everyone loses.”

Dig deeper: Read more in The Sift about the Justice Department’s handling of the case.