Roger Stone has said he has not requested a presidential pardon, nor has President Donald Trump offered one, but that does not mean he is not hoping for one.
"I am praying for a pardon," Stone told Frank Morano, who is co-producer of the Netflix documentary "Get Me Roger Stone," NBC News reported.
"Nobody tells Donald Trump what to do, and nobody tells him what not to do," Stone added, per NBC. "He will make his own judgment in his own time. His public comments have certainly been encouraging."
Stone added Trump's public comments on the case are promising for a pardon, and Stone has also argued a prison sentence at his age and amid the global coronavirus pandemic is ultimately a death sentence for crimes of lying to Congress about alleged contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign.
"Everything having to do with this fraudulent investigation is badly tainted and, in my opinion, should be thrown out," Trump tweeted recently.
Stone has also weighed an appeal for juror bias, as the foreperson of the jury reportedly expressed political animus against the president, making her unfit to render an unbiased verdict.
"I did not get a fair trial," Stone told The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y., per the New York Post. "I'm not sure I could ever have gotten one in D.C. It wouldn't have mattered if I had Clarence Darrow representing me. I'm not sure I could have been acquitted given this set up.
"I learned when I got into the DC circuit jury system that I’m not going to be judged by a jury of my peers," he added to host John Catsimatidis. "I'm going to be judged by people who admit in the jury selection process that they despise Donald Trump. That they want him removed.
Stone questions whether he can afford an appeal, which could cost as much as $1 million, he told NBC.
"In retrospect, I should have represented myself," Stone told NBC. "I may not have been able to file all the forms correctly, because I'm not a trained attorney. But I have a right to defend myself."
Roger is set to begin a prison sentence of three years, four months Thursday, April 30.