Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he’ll ask for the Justice Department inspector general to investigate the reduced sentencing recommendation. Trump denied doing anything improper, saying he didn’t speak to the Justice Department before it signalled it would overrule the prosecutors. Trump attacked the prosecutors and U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who presided over the trial, in tweets on Tuesday night. Judges have leeway in deciding on a sentence and need not follow the Justice Department recommendations. In their revised memo, prosecutors cited several reasons for lowering their recommendation, including one related to Stone’s threat to harm a witness, Randy Credico.

Source: National Post February 12, 2020 11:48 UTC