Roger Stone was convicted of interfering with the 2016 election by protecting his long-time friend Donald Trump on November 15, 2019. This includes an accusation with witness tampering, interfering with an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements. Throughout the years, Stone has been known to be a smooth talker and an attention seeker, he said that "the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about". However, this quickly became an empty phrase that got him into major trouble. Roger Stone is the sixth former Trump follower and friend to be convicted in cases deriving from Russia's interference in the 2016 election, which was the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.
Stone is part of a long history of Trump advisers and friends who have either been convicted or pleaded guilty in connection with the special counsel inquiry, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. All these men are equally linked to the President and have all created a support system for President Trump. However, this type of support ends up costing them a lot of money and almost their lives.
Stone is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 6, 2020, before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, where he faces up to 50 years in prison. As a first-time offender, Stone’s punishment is expected to be significantly lighter. The irony of it all is that Trump has not said a word about pardoning Stone, but it is the Roger Stone supporters who are pushing Trump to pardon him. Even Roger Stone is urging some mercy from the President of the United States stating that he "appeal[s] to the president to pardon [him] because to do so would be an action that would show these corrupt courts that they’re not going to get away with persecuting people for their free speech or for the crime of getting the president elected".
There should be an extent to how and when the civil liberty freedom of speech should be allowed. Going behind the nations back, blackmailing, and interfering with an important election that could possibly determine the outcome of our future, is a BIG deal. Enormous. There is no reason why Trump should pardon Roger Stone, and if he does, it shows how the idea of elitism has become absolute and the only way for people to maintain power. Roger Stone being pardoned reinforces the idea that cheating is the only answer. It also emphasizes how Trump lacks strength and confidence in himself to be able to win an election without the help of his friends and advisers.
Questions:
- Do you think that Trump should pardon Roger Stone?
- Should this case be considered as a violation of freedom of speech clause under the First Amendment?
- What do you think about interfering with an election or something as serious and important as such, is it unethical or ethical?
1. I personally do not think that Trump should pardon Roger Stone because it will likely lead to all of the people connected to Trump asking for pardons for their crimes. However, what I think most likely won't matter as Trump is likely to do what he wants. Because so many of his associates are being convicted around the same scandal I find it unlikely that he will pardon anyone involved, but as we come towards the end of his presidency this story will come up again. It is hard to say what is going on in Trump's head, especially with everything else going on in his presidency right now, so any possible outcome should be considered. The fact that Trump has said nothing so far about pardoning Stone is telling towards one side more than another, but we will have to wait and see.
ReplyDelete1. If Trump were to pardon Roger Stone it would allow for his corruption to continue. Trump's corruption shouldn't be offset by his executive abilities. It will reinforce elitism and Trump's corruption.
ReplyDelete1. I do not believe that Trump should or will pardon Roger stone, one of his dear friends, because it would open pandora's box and cause an outrage in the media. While Trump does not care about the media's attention, he does care about winning and that would not look good on his part.
ReplyDelete1. I don't think that Trump should pardon Roger Stone because Stone's interference with the election and false statements are criminal actions. In my opinion, there is no justification for pardoning him as interfering with an election and witness tampering are not protected by the first amendment freedom of speech clause. Additionally, pardoning Stone would only result in him continuing to show the same disregard for the law and may even set the precedent for pardoning future actions that interfere with elections.
ReplyDelete1. I don't think Trump should pardon Roger Stone for both moral and political reasons. Morally, pardoning Roger Stone would show a clear disregard for integrity in office and show a clear conflict of interest. Politically, it would do nothing but make Trump look more guilty. He's already been impeached by the House, and pardoning someone who played a big role in his scandals could be another point Democrats can make in the 2020 election.
ReplyDelete1. I do not think Trump should pardon Roger Stone, as there is very little justification for pardoning him for his interference in the elections. Despite Trumps personal ties to Stone, pardoning him would pose questions to a possible conflict of interest. Also, it is in Trumps best political interest not to pardon him as it would give democrats a thing to use against him as the election approaches.
ReplyDeleteI believe Trump should not pardon Roger Stone but whether that will actually happen or not is still up for debate. Trump is well known for his disregardment of the law so the chances that Roger Stone would be pardoned remains possible. Although this may garner unwanted media attention on Trump, I do not think he will care since he makes many controversial political decisions which has led to the polarized perspectives of his presidency.
ReplyDelete#2 Simply put, witness tampering and providing false information to investigators does not constitute protected free speech. Stone has clearly broken the law on several occasions when he tried to interfere with a federal investigation into election interference. The First Amendment was designed to protect democracy, not the individuals who seek to undermine it.
ReplyDelete1.) If trump were to pardon roger stone it would once again be crossing the line of executive power and further his reputation at the moment. During his impeachment the two reasons for impeachment were abuse of power and obstruction of congress. This could be seen as obstruction of judiciary branch but could definitely be considered a abuse of power and would only add on to his history.
ReplyDelete1. On both a strategic and moral level I do not think Trump should pardon Roger Stone. If he pardoned him it would make him seem like he was letting his allies have a get out of jail free card. Additionally it would be immoral because he would literally be giving his ally a get out of jail free card.
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