Roger Stone says he will request delay to start of prison sentence

Washington — Roger Stone, the longtime Trump associate who was sentenced to 40 months in prison, said he is headed to court again this week in an attempt to postpone the start of his sentence.

Stone said in a post on Facebook on Sunday that he is seeking "to delay the death sentence ordering me to a COVID-19 infested prison."

A federal jury convicted Stone on seven charges of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering in November in a case that stemmed from former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Stone, who was an informal adviser to Mr. Trump, was accused of lying to Congress about his efforts to work with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign and threatening a witness to conceal his actions.

He was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February and is set to begin his sentence June 30.

The threat the coronavirus poses to the U.S. prison population led Attorney General William Barr to urge the Bureau of Prisons to expand the use of home confinement for older inmates at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Among those who have been released to home confinement are Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump's former personal attorney, Paul Manafort, the president's former campaign chairman, and Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her case against Mr. Trump.

The president has repeatedly expressed his support for Stone during the course of his trial and after he was sentenced. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump said Stone "was a victim of a corrupt and illegal witch hunt" and suggested he would not serve time in prison.

"He can sleep well at night!" the president tweeted.

In:
• COVID-19