Roger Stone's Emergency Bid to Delay His Prison Term Is Denied

A federal appeals court denied an emergency request from Republican operative Roger Stone for a delay to the start of his prison term for lying to Congress, saying he hadn’t proved that he was in particular danger of catching the coronavirus behind bars.

“Stone proffers for the first time new facts regarding what he describes as positive tests for COVID-19 at the prison facility to which he has been assigned,” the appeals court in Washington wrote. “But Stone never afforded the district court the opportunity to consider that new evidence and make any relevant fact findings in a motion for reconsideration.”

Stone, 67, an ally of and campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, was convicted as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into a purported conspiracy by officials in President Donald Trump’s campaign and Kremlin agents to tilt the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor. Mueller’s investigation found no evidence of any conspiracy.

Nonetheless, prosecutors believed Stone was trying to undermine the Russia inquiry to shield Trump. In January 2019, Special Counsel Mueller indicted Stone on one count of obstruction, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering. Stone denied the charges, pleading not guilty.

On Nov. 15,  a jury convicted Stone in federal court on all counts, including obstructing the congressional investigation into Russian election tampering. 

Stone, 67, drew a 40-month sentence in February. But the start of the sentence was delayed until July 14 due to concerns over the novel coronavirus.

Newsmax's Jeffrey Rubin contributed to this story.