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President Trump on Friday evening commuted the sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, according to two senior administration officials. Stone in February was sentenced to 40 months in prison for crimes including obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress.

Why it matters: The controversial move brings an abrupt end to the possibility of Stone spending time behind bars. He had been scheduled to report to prison on July 14.

  • It also concludes an ongoing dispute between Trump and his Justice Department over the length of Stone’s sentence, which exposed Attorney General Bill Barr to public criticism.

The backdrop: The DOJ revised its original sentencing guidelines of seven to nine years of prison time for Stone after Trump complained in a tweet that it was a "miscarriage of justice," kicking off a wave of backlash and the resignation of a number of prosecutors.

  • During Stone's sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors ultimately argued within the parameters of the original sentencing guidelines.

Of note: Stone was the seventh person to be convicted and sentenced for crimes unearthed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

  • The high-profile commutation follows Trump's post-impeachment clemency spree during which he commuted or pardoned multiple white-collar criminals convicted of crimes such as corruption, gambling fraud and racketeering.

Flashback: Stone and Trump have maintained a rapport for over three decades. After Stone met Trump through Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign, he counseled the businessman through three potential presidential runs.

  • Trump in return hired Stone as a lobbyist to represent his businesses, according to The Atlantic.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly 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.