A national volunteer organization of more than 1,000 federal judges is holding an emergency conference call Tuesday about the U.S. Department of Justice’s intervention in the sentencing of Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump.
Philadelphia U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, president of the Federal Judges Association, told USA Today that it "could not wait" until its spring conference to discuss the recent decisions made within the Justice Department. Its executive committee is holding the call Tuesday after the department backtracked on its recommendation for Stone's sentence.
»Who are the four prosecutors who quit the Roger Stone case?
“There are plenty of issues that we are concerned about,” Rufe, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, told the newspaper.
Last week, four main federal prosecutors who worked on Stone's obstruction and perjury case quit the case. The abrupt withdrawals came after the Justice Department overruled their recommendation for a stiffer sentence for Stone. One of the prosecutors resigned outright.
The prosecutors had asked a U.S. District Court judge in Washington to sentence Stone to up to nine years in prison for obstructing a congressional investigation, witness tampering and making false statements during the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Late Monday, Trump took a swipe at the prosecutors on Twitter, saying they were beholden to Robert Mueller and had recommended an unduly harsh sentence in Stone’s case.
»MORE: Uproar in Washington after lighter sentence for Trump ally
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for an investigation after Trump tweeted the sentencing recommendation, which was between seven and nine years in prison, was “very horrible and unfair.”
Later the same day, the Justice Department intervened and revised the recommendation. The revised filing from DOJ asked for no specific sentence for Stone but stated that what prosecutors previously asked for “could be considered excessive and unwarranted.”
The next day, Trump was on Twitter praising Attorney General William Barr for "taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought." Barr agreed to testify March 31 before the House Judiciary Committee.
More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials have also signed a letter calling on Barr to resign, saying his “actions in doing the President’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words.”
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