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Congressman Cohen Condemns Trump’s Commutation of Stone’s Sentence

July 11, 2020

Says it is “authoritarianism at its worst,” violating rule of law

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today condemned President Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence on seven felony convictions. Stone was convicted of making false statements to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. He was scheduled to surrender Tuesday to begin a 40-month sentence.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"This is authoritarianism at its worst. No president has used the Constitution's commutation power to so brazenly advance a self-serving objective. As his niece, Mary Trump, has observed, Trump is a textbook narcissist and sociopath whose cruelty and incompetence make him a danger to democratic norms and the rule of law. The Stone commutation, late on a Friday night, shows he has no shame and doesn't care about the Constitution he took an oath to uphold or the principle of the rule of law. This is about Trump's desperate effort to hold on to power, but the American people recognize corruption when they see it.

"On January 3, 2019, I introduced H. J. Res. 8 to prevent the president from pardoning himself, his family, or members of his administration or campaign. At the time, I feared the President would abuse his power to grant clemency to those who did his dirty work. Today, my fears have been realized. I urge my colleagues to join me and cosponsor this critical Constitutional Amendment."