Roger Stone likely will not have to report to prison until September, Politico reports.
In a filing late Thursday, the Justice Department said it would not oppose Stone’s request to delay the start of his prison sentence by 60 days, due to concerns of coronavirus.
“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is currently the U.S. Department of Justice’s policy . . . to not oppose a defendant’s request to extend a voluntary surrender date for up to 60 days, unless the defendant poses an immediate public safety or flight risk," the U.S. attorney's office for Washington, D.C., wrote in the filing. "For that reason — and that reason only — the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia does not oppose defendant Roger J. Stone’s request to extend his voluntary surrender date for up to 60 days."
Stone, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, was convicted of witness tampering and lying to Congress last year. He is scheduled to report to a Georgia prison on June 30.
On Tuesday, he asked the court for a delay “in light of his heightened risk of serious medical consequences from exposure to the COVID-19,” The Washington Post reports.
ON Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson asked prosecutors for a detailed explanation of why they should accept a delay.
Michael R. Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, responded in the Thursday filing stating the request falls in line with the department’s coronavirus policies.
Prisons have become hotspots for virus outbreaks.
Stone’s lawyers are requesting a new surrender date of Sept. 3, according to Politico.