Roger Stone Appeals Conviction, Gets Prison Delay Over Virus

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's longtime ally Roger Stone is appealing his conviction for lying to Congress and tampering with a witness during the probe of Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

A notice of appeal was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, where a jury found Stone guilty in November following a politically charged trial. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Stone in February to three years and four months in prison.

Stone, 67, was due to voluntarily surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Friday, but that was delayed by at least 30 days as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, his lawyer Seth Ginsberg said in an email. Some prisons and jails have proved to be breeding grounds for the highly contagious virus.

“I have great confidence in my new appeals lawyers,” Stone said in a phone call. “I believe they will develop a very solid appeal based on numerous issues.”

The judge on April 17 denied Stone's request for a new trial, rejecting his claim that the jury foreperson was dishonest and politically biased. At the time, Jackson gave Stone two weeks to report to prison or file an appeal.

The trial included evidence that Trump knew about WikiLeaks' plans to release hacked emails damaging to his rival, Hillary Clinton. Stone, accused of lying to protect Trump, was the last person charged during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 22-month Russia investigation.

Ginsberg declined to comment on the appeal.

Read More: Roger Stone Is Denied a New Trial Over Biased Juror Claim

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