DOJ watchdog probing Roger Stone sentencing changes
15 September 2020
The Department of Justice inspector general's office has launched an internal investigation into Attorney General Bill Barr's intervention in the sentencing of President Trump's associate Roger Stone, the DOJ confirmed Monday night.
Why it matters: The probe centers around Barr's February decision to seek a lighter sentence after career prosecutors recommended seven to nine years in prison for Stone, who was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress, NBC News first reported.
- Career prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky testified before Congress in June that prosecutors were under "heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice" in the case.
The big picture: Trump congratulated Barr for "taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought."
- But members of the legal community and over 1,100 former DOJ officials, who served Republican and Democratic administrations, joined Democrats in criticizing the action.
- Stone was released from prison in July after Trump commuted his 40-month prison sentence. He had been scheduled to report to prison that month.
What they're saying: Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement to news outlets, "We welcome the review."
- Stephanie Logan, a spokesperson for DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, would only say to Politico, "Our general practice is to not confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing investigation."
Of note: Stone was the seventh person to be convicted and sentenced for crimes unearthed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.