NEW YORK — A federal judge rejected Roger Stone’s claim that he deserved a new trial because a biased Internal Revenue Service employee sat on the jury that convicted him of lying to help President Donald Trump.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made her Feb. 5 decision on the previously sealed request public on Wednesday, a day after four prosecutors quit the case in response to a rare Justice Department decision to overrule their recommendation for a harsh sentence for the longtime Republican operative.
While Stone argued the juror works for a division of the IRS “that works hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice prosecuting criminal tax matters,” Jackson said there are many IRS lawyers who work in that role.
“The court finds in its discretion that it was not necessary to strike the juror for alleged bias or for failure to follow the court’s instructions,” Jackson said in the decision.
All four U.S. government prosecutors who backed a long prison stay for Stone resigned from the case on Tuesday, a stunning rebuke to the Justice Department after it cut his recommended sentence by more than half. The prosecutors had suggested a term of seven to nine years behind bars.
The prosecutors’ withdrawal from the team that won Stone’s conviction for lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering capped a remarkable day in which the Justice Department shifted its stance hours after Trump tweeted criticism of the proposed punishment.
Trump remarked to reporters Wednesday that the prosecutors “hit the road pretty quickly” after Justice signaled it would cut their recommended sentence.
“It was a disgrace to our country,” he said of the initial sentencing recommendation.
“Frankly, they ought to apologize to him.
“They ought to go back to school and learn,” he said later of the prosecutors.
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