Roger Stone, in his first interview since the lift of his court-issued 16-month gag order this week, said Friday on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that his pending prison sentence of 3-plus years is “essentially a death sentence.”
Stone was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison after a jury convicted him on seven counts of obstructing a congressional inquiry, lying under oath and attempting to block a witness testimony as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into election meddling by the Russian government.
Speaking with Carlson, Stone said that a federal judge has ordered him to surrender in “two weeks.”
“At 67 years old, with some underlying health problems, including a history of asthma, I believe, with the coronavirus, it is essentially a death sentence,” Stone said. “I am praying for justice, I am praying for mercy.”
Last year, the presiding judge over Stone’s case also issued a gag order on the former Trump adviser, preventing him from making public statements “on any subject” on his social media accounts, after Stone had previously violated a gag order that prevented him from making public statements about his trial.
On Thursday, a federal judge rejected Stone’s request for a new trial but lifted the gag order, which allowed Stone to appear on Carlson’s Friday evening show. And shortly after the gag order was lifted that day, Stone quickly began sharing new posts on his Instagram account.
Carlson said on his show that Bob Dylan “should be writing a song” about Stone while Sean Hannity, appearing after Carlson, said he believed what happened to Stone was a “travesty.”
In February, Carlson suggested President Trump pardon Stone, saying, “Trump could end this travesty in an instant with a pardon, and there are indications tonight that he will do that.”
Carlson added at the time, “What has happened to Roger Stone should never happen to anyone in this country of any political party,” he added. “It’s completely immoral, it’s wrong. Fixing it is the right thing to do.”