judge amy berman jackson asked did it get up to the u.s. attorney? yes, the prosecutor responds. the judge asked did it have to go up to main justice? the prosecutor responds. there were consultations with main justice. and with respect to the second filing the judge asked you signed it, did you write it? the response, i'm not at liberty to discuss the internal deliberations from doj? were you directed to ask that? quote, i can't answer that. and judge amy berman jackson on the truth. quote, the truth still exists, the truth still matters. roger stone's insistence on it doesn't and his pride in his own lies are the threat to the most fundamental institutions, the dismay and disgust that the belligerence should transsend party. that's where we start with former federal prosecutor, who joins us after being inside the court room today and white house bureau chief and co author of "a very stable genius, phil rutger. and form cia director, john brennan. take me inside what judge amy berman jackson was trying to doing with her questioning of the prosecutor? >> i think she was basically

amy berman jackson one of the quotes about stone, at his core mr. stone is an insecure person who kraicraves and recklessly p seuss attention. is he insecure? >>. >> the second part was right, the first part i would say is not correct. his behavior in the courtroom certainly could make her feel that way because he was just doing his same old routine in the courtroom. he was making jokes and winking at the jury, and it was a disastrous choice to make. but the difference between -- >> why do that? >> because it's worked for him in the past, and roger's bag of tricks is kind of his fall back when he's under pressure, or when you're trying to press him for difficult answers, he'll just fall back to his bag of tricks, but roger's very image conscious. that's different from being insecure. >> how do you mean image conscio conscious? >> he's very worried about how he looks. he's not the guy who's going to say, oh, my god, i'm such an idiot. he's like here's how i can insult my way out of it. >> the judge made sure to stand up and say he lied to protect the

threatening the witness' dog, even though that saying he didn'elte a letter threatened judgamy berman jackson, the judge who sentenced stone today, wasn't buying any of it. e id that this witness intimidation was quote "a corrupt and unlawful campaign to tamper with a witness." and, really, the judge all day today was very, verytical of

>> judge amy berman jackson is about to pass sentence. he she's going through the facts of the case. roger stone decided to make no statement whatsoever. the judge is saying that stone flatout lied to congress. she's also making the point that this was not a political case. she said roger stone was not pursued by his political enemies and that stands in reputation to what right-wing media has been saying and echoed in tweets by president trump as recently as today. and another really interesting development at this hearing, andrea, is that the prosecutors went in today and essentially seemed to revolt against that lesser sentencing memo that they were required to file by attorney general bill barr. they argued for the enhancements that bumped the sentencing recommendation up today to about six to seven years, not the seven to nine that was in the original sentencing memo. they argued, essentially, against their own memo that they were required to file -- a prosecutor who signed the second memo after the four original prosecutors quit the

obama appointed judge amy berman jackson, an open democratic justice, and went to attacking jackson in the case. she threatened to send him to jail if he tried to defend himself in public. that's why roger stone is not on this show tonight. he could go to prison for it. fixing it is the right thing to do, and in the end that is the only thing that mattered. >> if you're familiar with tucker, who is very good on television, he's reading a teleprompter there. this is not him ad-lib ibing. he wrote a script saying, this is a judge that is biased. judge amy jackson is viewed quite fairly across the political spectrum. but the president has his, shall we say, boom box, and he often listens. >> he very often listens, so not only is tucker helping the roger stone pardon here, but we've seen other pardons he's done over his presidency, that he does take his cue from fox news. we know that the president and his advisers are taking other ways to kind of expand his use of the pardon power. my colleagues at the "washington post" reported that the white house is creating kind of this informal task

judge amy berman jackson, she doesn't like roger stone, it's pretty clear. take that up with tom fitton. more great poll numbers for president trump. we'll take it up with the ♪ it's surprising how the bigger a city gets... the smaller it starts to feel. which makes it even more surprising, how big it feels in here. with sliding rear seats... and more available second row legroom than say... a chevy suburban. this is the completely reimagined 2020 ford escape. [♪] lou: more great poll numbers for president trump and his reelection campaign. 65% of registered voters say president trump will definitely or probably be re-elected in november. the poll conducted among 10,000 registered voters. the margin of error 1.2%. that's the most impressive margin of error i have seen in a long time. ed rollins, what do you think of that poll? >> i think it's a great poll. they have run a brilliant campaign so far. the democrats go from playing miniature golf in new hampshire and iowa, one week from tuesday you are going to have 16 states, california, texas, they are no more

his convicted friend over prosecutors but he's also targeting the presiding federal judge amy berman jacksont trump tweeting this about judge jackson, quote, is this the judge that put paul manafort in solitary confinement, something that not even mobster al capone had to endure? how did she treat crooked hillary clinton? just asking. roger stone is awaiting sentencing after his conviction last year on seven charms of obstruction, lying and witness tampering. with me now, served 22 years in the southern district of new york after being nominated by president clinton. a pleasure, thank you so much for coming by. the tweet i just read, president trump weighing in on judge jackson. when you saw that, what did you think? >> i think i've heard it before. this president has attacked many federal judges personally, which is unprecedented. i know no president who has done that, and it's a real threat to the independence of the judiciary to go after judges personally. so it's in character for him. nobody likes it. they don't approve of it, but he's done it before. >> i hear you on that he's done it b

judge amy berman jackson, she doesn't like roger stone, it's pretty clear.that up with tom fitton. more great poll numbers for president trump. we'll take it up with the political savant ed rollins next. with some homemade biscuits! >>oh, that's so nice! and a little tip, geico could help you save on homeowners insurance. >>hmm! >>cookies! uhh, biscuits. >>mmmm, is there a little nutmeg in there? oh it's my mum's secret recipe. >>you can tell me. it's a secret. >>is it cinnamon? it's my mum's secret recipe. call geico and see how easy saving on homeowners and condo insurance can be. i'll come back for the plate. like a hybrid with best in class epa estimated range of more than five hundred eighty two miles. and ford co-pilot 360 technology to help you outsmart some of the things you'll encounter on the road. with more available second row leg room than a chevy suburban. this is the completely reimagined, street smart 2020 ford escape. instead of using aloe, this is the completely reimagined, street smart or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing r

judge amy berman jackson, she doesn't like roger stone, it's pretty clear.that up with tom fitton. more great poll numbers for president trump. we'll take it up with the political savant ed rollins i'm your 70lb st. bernard puppy, and my lack of impulse control, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. the better question would be where do i not listen to it. while i'm eating my breakfast... on the edges of cliffs... on a ski lift... everywhere. ♪ download audible and start listening today. i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424. now you can, with shipsticks.com! no more lugging your clubs through the airport or risk having your clubs lost or damaged by the airlines. sending your own clubs ahead with shipsticks.com makes it fast & easy to get to your golf destination. with just a few clicks or a phone call, we'll pick up and deli

>> bravo to judge berman jackson, first. she was intending this for donald trump, the american public and roger stone. there has been a tendency primarily coming from roger stone and president trump to downplay it, to make it sound like it's silly, roger stone doing his usual thing, he slings some here, slings some there. the judge said this is a big deal. this is what our democracy and institutions are about. truth still matters. i think that was an important and bold statement. >> if you pay attention to seeing some of the websites and the things that pop up when you get alerts, right, some of the right wing fringe, they all say, it's a big deal and justice for roger stone. it's like, what are you talking about? >> and this whole idea of sort of lying to congress, lying to prosecutors -- >> not a big deal, yeah. >> this is the thread that ties together a lot of these cases, whether it's michael flynn, paul manafort. all these -- michael cohen. lying to congress, lying to investigators, preventing law enforcement, congress

last week, trump attacked judge berman jackson on twitter. the chief judge of the u.s. district court for d.c. responded in defense of berman jackson, saying, "public criticism or pressure is not a factor." mike bloomberg has qualified for the next democratic debate, after receiving 19% in a national npr, pbs newshour and marist poll. he needed at least 10% to qualify. the democratic national committee was recently widelyly criticized for overhauling its debate requirements to elilimine the need for candidates to obtain a significant number of small donations. bloomberg has poured over $400 million of his own money into his campaigngn. the debate will take place wednesday night in nevada ahead of saturday's caucuses. bloomberg is not on the ballot in nevada. senator bernie sanders leads in the same poll with 31%. in related news, bloomberg is coming under fire yet again for his past remarks. this time, the former new york city mayor can be seen telling an audience at oxford university in 2016 that farming requires less gray matter than working in the information economy

so stones team is asking for that -- judge berman jackson has not ruled yet on that. next few weeks. so she is delaying the execution of his sentence, meaning he's not going to walk away in handcuffs today. he will probably be leaving at some point at the next 15 or 20 minutes. >> melissa: free on bond, i see that as part of the notes prove that he will be free on bond. >> harris: talk to me if you can about -- go ahead. >> no, go ahead. >> harris: i was just wondering, he kind of sat very calmly, you are describing him smiling. i know he was taking some notes and talking with his attorneys today. what was the actual reaction when we found out it was three years and four months and not anywhere near the seven to nine years that originally had been the prosecutors' recommendation? >> his defense team breathed a sigh of relief. stone did not make much emotion, from what i'm reading here. it was also customary for the defendant to speak before the judge just before their sentence. he was given that opportunity today but he declined. he said he had nothing further to add.

if there's anyone in washington that deserves to be impeach is amy berman jackson. at this very moment tonight, countless violent predators in new york and california walk free without posting bail but jackson wanted to punish gates and manafort before they were convicted. she did. ultimate she revoked manafort's bail and placed him in jail in solitary confinement. jackson reserved here real fury for roger stone. she declared that stone was prosecuted for covering up for the president. now, be cnn left to pass without comment. anybody was watching was baff d baffled. it's untrue. nobody connected to the president has ever been charged with a crime related to spying for russia must less convicted of one. stone was not charged with covering up for anything. that was not the charge. amy jackson knows that. she lied about it. in other words, here you have a federal judge lying about the case before her, scary? yes, it is scary. roger stone's entire journey, partisan prosecutors, partisan judge couldn't have been more dis hone dishonest. it's hard to imagine it happened i

court has just resumed and ajude amy berman jackson just took the bench., what are you hearing? >> reporter: there may be a sentence, though we don't know at this point what the sentence may be. judge amy berman jackson kicked this off, returning after a break saying, surprisingly, i have a lot to say, and she's in the process of saying it right now. she's really starting during the campaign of roger stone's activity and going on about everything that's happened since then. one of the points she was careful to make was this was not something that came up because, even though the president has said this and people in the president's orbit has said this, thf this was not just looking to target allies of president trump. she said, this did not arise because roger stone was one of the political enemies. it arose because roger stone injected himself smack in the middle of one of the most significant issues of the day. she goes on about how he was talking very publicly about being in touch with wikileaks and now she's starting to run through the things that roge

those words today from judge amy berman jackson who handed down the sentence. the 67-year-old notorious political consultant has been the president's confidant and ally for some 30 years. a judge convicted stone of obstruction, lying to congress, and witness tampering based upon the findings from the russia investigation. and before rendering her decision today, judge jackson revealed that she was not taking into account the revised sentencing recommendation that set off this crisis really within the justice department in the last week. the initial prosecutors on

district judge amy berman jackson of bias and called for her recusal. stone was sentenced last week by berman jackson to 40 months in prison for obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering. in a statement the judge called the request "nothing more than an attempt to use the court's docket to disseminate a statement for public consumption that has the words judge and biased in it." >>> it's been a month since the devastating chopper crash that killed lakers legend kobe bryant and his daughter gianna. today 20,000 mourners will be flooding the staples center in los angeles to say their final farewells during a public memorial nbc's steve patterson is here with a preview steve? >> yeah, phillip in just a few hours downtown los angeles will be covered in purple and gold as fans come together to honor the memory of kobe bryant and his 13-year-old daughter gianna with a massive public memorial. 20,000 ticket-holding mourners are expected to fill the streets near the staples center, the so-called house that kobe built. screens around the arena w

her name is amy berman jackson.ingly told roger stone's legal team there is no reason for her to be removed from the case. stone's attorneys have said her description of the jury was biased in a case that has not yet been concluded despite sentencing because of stone's bid for a new trial. all this bringing to us our weekly segment, cross-exam, with cnn legal analyst elie honig, who is also a former federal and state prosecutor. elie, your reaction to this news from judge jackson. was there ever any evidence that she was biased? >> not surprising, this was really a desperation motion by roger stone, i'm not at all surprised the judge has summarily dismissed it. the first question, was there any evidence from judge berman jackson that she was biased. absolutely not. it's really important to push back on this notion which frankly the president has promoted, that judges are somehow biased in favor of whatever party president nominated them and against the other party. that's simply not the case. we have a constitutiona

>> reporter: stewart, judge berman-jackson got right into the controversy over the justice departmentmmendation for roger stone. she sort of sarcastically commented to jurors and observers that normally it's the defense arguing that the federal sentencing guidelines are too harsh and the attorney general weighed in and reversed a sentencing recommendation arguing the sentencing guidelines and enhancements didn't apply to roger stone. the judge is ruling differently. on two separate enhancements, one for threatening a witness and one for obstructing the investigation, suggests those do apply to roger zone, which means it could be in the upper part of the guidelines. stone is a first offender, 67 years old, the sentence may not go that high. donald trump today tweeting a fox news commentator suggesting he may pardon roger stone. so all this may be moot. but judge amy berman-jackson is taking a much tougher view of this case than the president and attorney general william barr is. she's the one who is going to decide the accesentence today. roger stone will not be whisked off to prison b

judge berman jackson will go below it when she sentences him. my guess is three years, actually. they're serious crimes without question. this is not the sort of defendant you usually see get a big break, given his witness tampering and threats to the judge and so on. the same time at his age i won't be surprised to see her go lower. but the sentencing guideline are there for a reason, to ensure people are treated fairly across the country and across different circumstances. so there are good reasons to take that seriously. >> we're hearing from inside the courtroom, the proceedings have started, about 100 people in there, drawing unusual interest for a sentencing like this. >> sure. shimon prokupecz is with us. can you talk about the request for stone's team for a new trial, not stone, the request from the president for a new trial. i know the judge will consider that after the sentence is handed down. can you explain to people how that consideration will work and when we might have an answer on that? >> right. that has been filed under seal. so we don't know too much about why

amy berman jackson did not address any of this in the call today. she kept it pretty short, about 15 minutes, to say, we'll see roger stone in court on thursday. >> i need the memo on how she blocks that stuff out. some of us could use that memo. it is extraordinary, i'm skbroekiskbroek i -- joking about it, but here's a federal judge where you're under constant attack from the president of the united states, and the person you're about to sentence happens to be a friend of decades, of said president of the united states. judge jackson now has a request for a new trial, based on the bias of the foreperson of the jury. he goes on, existence of these tweets which are so harshly negative about the president and the people who support him, we would order a new trial. i'm not so sure about judge jackson, i don't know. the president tweeting other people into this. every day we're having conversations about the norms being busted, but this one, the president directly getting involved in the sentencing of a friend, and attacking personally a federal judge

amy berman jackson is a disgrace to the judiciary. ghtening that in a country like ours she has power, and she does. we said that on the show last week. today during a hearing, jackson attacked us. and once again she lied as she did it. she actually accused her of "invading the privacy of the foreman of the jury." when in fact the juror herself has spoken publicly and revealed her own identity. many media outlets publisher name, including "the new york times," "the washington post" and cnn, all of which of course jackson approves of because they are on her side. then jackson accused the show of "harassing the jurors, even encouraging violence against them. that is insane. of course we did no such thing. finally, jackson called her criticism of her "antithetical to our system of justice." which proves that not only is amy berman jackson corrupt, dishonest and authoritarian, and she is definitely all of those things,ru she also has no sensef self-awareness whatsoever. jeanine pirro host justice with judge dineen and she joins us tonight.

it did not rest with judge amy berman jackson.und that this person lied to congress, tampered with witnesses and obstructed. so you have all of these issues at play. if there's any decision being made, it's based on the facts and the jury as they saw it. >> jeff mason, laura coates described how the system is designed to work. should work. the rule of law should work. but the fact is, it's not the president's approach to this. is it? he's already signaling in public in ways that presidents should not do, right, and have not done, interference in cases. but may very well use the pardon powers we've seen him do already to help out friends. >> he might. we don't know that yet. it's important to note that this is still speculation. he hasn't pardoned anyone. he hasn't pardoned anyone related to the mueller probe but he did in recent days pardon and commute the sentences of several other white collar criminals. and he has clearly shown a willingness and he has said he has the right to weigh in on these cases. there's reason for that sp

the courthouse for us for stone's sentencing. >> reporter: we finally heard from the judge, amy berman jackson, who's been under attack by the president. now, jackson spent much of the sentencing criticizing stone's acs in 2016 saying he was prosecuted for covering up for the president whenever he lied to congress. jackson also saved some fire for president trump. he didn't directly comment on him but instead made several veiled remarks. just before she told roger stone his sentence she said both plitcopli political parties should be disgusted and dismayed. at the hearing a prosecutors office largely sided with his former colleagues from the office who quit the case last week. the attorney general overrode their recommend asians after they sought a harsh senseitanter stone. stone has asked for a new trial alleging juror misconduct, so stone's ongoing argument means he won't have to report to prison right away, and the judge is still deciding whether stone deserves a retrial. christine and laura, back to yo yo you. >> kaitlan, thank you for that. >>> how much food is wasted around the world? tu

it's the first time judge amy berman jackson made comment or seek an explanation on the doj's sudden request to change stone's sentencing recommendation. last month the chief judge said judges would not be swayed by pressure. sentencing set for thursday pending the outcome of today's proceedings. >>> a bill to ban assault weapons defeated in the virginia senate despite democratic control. in a rare win for gun rights groups in the state four democrats joined republicans to kill the measure in committee. high capacity magazines would have been outlawed as well. democrats won control after a shooter killed 12 people last may. >>> in a bloody weekend in chicago 25 people were shot, 11 of them minors. three died, all of them adults. the carnage coming nine months into the administration of mayor laura light-foot who made gun violence a top priority in her campaign. note chicago's homicide rate did decrease for the third straight year in 2019. >>> an a national holiday vandalism strikes at one of the most iconic landmarks in u.s. history. ... cincinnati on tuesday. ...philly on wednesday.

well, president trump is once again attacking a federal judge, in this case judge amy berman jackson who is presiding over the stone case. the nation now looks again to chief justice roberts to make clear to president trump that these attacks are unacceptable. speaking of the independence of the judiciary in broad and general terms is well and good. it's a good thing to do. but to not speak up now when in the middle of this brouhaha a judge is being attacked by the president before she makes a sentencing decision, that's when we really need the chief justice to speak up. so now would be the time for chief justice roberts to speak up. now would be the time for the chief justice to directly and specifically defend the independence of this federal judge. i hope he will see fit to do that and to do it today. i've also called on the inspector general of the justice department to investigate the roger stone matter. the judiciary committee in the senate should do the same. but even without formal investigation, it is abundantly clear that something is rotten in the justice department. the p

it's the first time judge amy berman jackson may comment or seek some sort of explanation on the doj'snge stone's sentencing recommendation. last week the chief judge of the federal district court in d.c. said judges would not be swayed by public criticism or pressure. stone's attorneys have made a second request for a new trial. sentencing is set for thursday pending the outcome of today's proceedings. we'll be right back. ?... eh, not enough fiber- chocolate would be good- snacking should be sweet and simple. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. glucerna. everyday progress the best of pressure cooking and air frying now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology, you can cook foods that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. the ninja foodi pressure cooker, the pressure cooker that crisps. in the time it takes to brew a cup, we'll tell you why green mountain coffee roasters nantucket blend is so smooth. let's go to one of the places the coffee comes from... honduras. this is mario. and his wife, shey

amy berman jackson made no mention of it. wanted to try to staff above the fray and just deal with the merits of the case at hand, without weighing into any of the broader controversy that is playing out in the backdrop here. >> yeah, and still lingers. sara, thank you so much for bringing us the breaking news. appreciate it. >>> here with me now, cnn legal analyst jennifer rogers, one of the now more than 2,000 former doj officials to sign on to the letter calling on bill barr to resign over his intervention in this case. jennifer, what we're hearing from sara and from the call, what do you make of the call? >> not surprised that the judge didn't delve into the controversy with respect to what is going on at doj. her job is to sentence roger stone and she said not surprisingly she will go ahead and do that on thursday. there is no reason to delay for the new trial motion, already a three-month delay built in when the bureau of prisons decides where he will be designated and so on. she can decide on all of that while that pro

i contacted the justice department and they have no comment. >> we know that amy berman jackson has a emergency meeting of federal judges. what is that all about? >> well, people who have looked at this have not found any precedent for this group of federal judges convening in emergency meeting and the head of the organization said that it was in response to this appearance of the attorney general and the president politically interfering in the justice system. the president of the united states is criticizing federal judges that has not happened before in modern history. it compromises the independence of the judiciary and we'll have to say whether this group issues a formal statement or somehow pushes back. what we do know is that some 2,000 former justice department officials are now calling on william barr to resign. >> thank you. we'll leave it there. >>> coming up, john bolton raising eyebrows in his first public comments since the impeachment hearing. what he thought about the call between president trump and president zelensky. ...i...i don't know... when did we introduce sira

he's going to be sentenced tomorrow by judge amy berman jackson.e justice officials -- less time than they wanted or recommended and they later resigned. what are you expecting to see tomorrow? >> i'm expecting to see her in the area of about five years. i don't think she'll go to the top of the sentencing guideline. there's been a lot of publicity. if you look at what happened during watergate, one of the longest sentences went to gordon liddy who was the bad actor at the center of it all, and he didn't even get five years because jimmy carter commuted his sentence. so i just think she'll be in the five-year, maybe six-year range, but that's just a guess. >> listen, she's free to impose whatever she wants. do you think she's going to be affected by all this politics and everything swirling around this case? >> no, i think she's more or less -- she understands what's going on. she knows how the president operates. i do think she's going to dive a little bit into what's gone down at d.o.j. and try to get some answers as to what on earth has happened

right now the judge in the case, judge amy berman-jackson is weighing in and will be handing down that sentence. edward lawrence at the united states district court with the very latest. where do we stand, edward? reporter: yeah. the judge is right now going through those counts, sort of admonishing roger stone with this. here we are two hours into the sentencing hearing. it was only expected to last an hour but roger stone on the way in, sort of hopeful coming into this morning. we do have video of him coming into the courthouse but his defense team tried to basically say he really wasn't making any serious threats. the judge reading some of the text messages though allowed, including expletives. it was more than just playful banter on misleading congress. the judge said, mr. stone, you lied. adding this prosecution all started according to the judge, it arose because roger stone characteristically inserted himself smack in the middle of the most incendiary issues of the day. looks like edging towards stronger end of a sentence for roger stone. came out said in the face of the gag ord

handing down the sentence, judge amy berman jackson was scathing about mr stone's conduct.l matters," she said. "roger stone's insistence that it doesn't, his belligerence, his pride in his own lies, are a threat to our most fundamental institutions, to the very foundation of our democracy." but the president spoke out in defense of his friend. he has become a big part of the news over the last little while, and i am following this very closely, and i want to see it play out to its fullest because roger has a very good chance of exoneration, in my opinion. for another perspective on roger stone, here's christine spadafor, a lawyer and management consultant from washington. roger stone has been an adviser to president trump for decades. he is a self—proclaimed dirty trickster, and he has been an operative for a number of republican politicians over the years, including richard nixon, and he proudly displays a tattoo of richard nixon's face on his back. and what do you make of this sentence, the shenanigans leading up to the sentence and the chance of even this sentence stayi

his attack on judge berman jackson in this case has happened in a couple of instances. and is part of what he's done in this latest instance. i've been curious following republicans, you know, lindsey graham who couldn't be a bigger supporter of the president said in classic understatement the president shouldn't have said anything. which if you put that in a normal filter would mean this is outrageous. and i just think republicans should be held to their previous views on such matters. you know, john cornyn says there should have been a special prosecutor appointed when former president clinton approached then-attorney general loretta lynch at a time when hillary clinton was being investigated for her emails. something that was roundly criticized and i thought appropriately so for that potential. even the appearance of that kind of interference. and republicans were critical of president obama when he saw to absolve hillary clinton in the email controversy. so republicans are on record saying what they would consider abusive in this regard and now they've just complete

amy berman jackson has revoked his first amendment rights.ire democratic party and their servants in the press can defame stone at will, and they are, relentlessly, but if stone dares to express his own opinion, amy berman jackson sent them to jail immediately. she saidn that. she has banned him from speaking publicly about the case in any way. he can't tweet or right on facebook, no t social media. he came to television, he can't speak to reporters. he cannot even express himself indirectly. if roger stone has to friend or family member to deliver a statement on his behalf he would be violating judge jackson's order. notice we won't say violating the law, because it's not the law. no judge can abolish the freedom of speech. it is inherent. instead, what you're watching is the capricious authoritarianism of a democratic activist wearing robes. it's terrifying. and it's being done purely for political ends. already today cnn t has made it clap demographic explain hows roger stone's prison sentence proves how the president is a criminal. you co

appointed judge aimy berman jackson making a mockery of such bias. people sort justice roberts said we. according to the 40-month sentence judge jackson is over four times more on the average sentence on obstruction of just it offenders with little to know criminal history. the stone case more than a year. more than twice as long as the average federal felony case which would be 7 months. joining us, saul, good to have you here. i was astonished to hear judge jackson make the comment she did talking about a cover-up. it was one political slur after another. your reaction as an attorney, a former prosecutor? >> i don't agree with you, lou. i don't approve -- i don't agree with all of her comments particularly at the end of the sentencing particularly about what stone's motivations were. but if you look at what he ended up sentencing roger stone to is still a substantial down ward variance. to those of us in the white collar criminal defense industry, you don't get those every day. would i have sentenced him to a little bit less. yes. but i think that

one of them having to do with roger stone who is going to be sentenced tomorrow by judge amy berman jacksons attacked the judge, the prosecutors the sentencing recommendation, and what do you anticipate going to happen? the prosecutor said 7 to 9 years and the justice department undermined it, and they resigned in protest and what do you think. >> well, it is from the guideline range, and they did not pick this number out of the sky. it is based on a chart that is added up by the pretrial services whose job is to figure out based on the criminal history and any aggravating factors like the crime spanned over a course of years and you did not comply with orders of the court like a gag order or what is added on and not that they were trying to be preferential, and that is the president, and any new trial is going to be coming later, but he is going to be sentenced in the five-year range, but i cannot predict amy berman jackson. >> well, what is sad is that the conversation of the people trying to influence it is making it hard for the way for the public to have faith in it. >> yes, thank you

judge amy berman jackson pushed back against assertions that the sentence was affected by political interference. she said stone was prosecuted for covering up for the president. she said she will at some point make a determination on clemency. >> i'm following this very closely and want to see it play out to its fullest, because roger has a very good chance of exoneration in my opinion. >> a sentence had been recommended of seven to nine years. the justice department overruled the recommendation and sought a lighter sentence. four prosecutors quit the case in protest. the democrats have accused president trump of abusing his power as president. >>> a top taliban leader says his group is about to sign a peace agreement with the united states. the statement by the group's deputy leader was published in an opinion peace in the "new york times." the article, titled "what we, the taliban want" says the withdrawal of foreign forces has been our first and foremost demand. that we stand at the threshold of a peace agreement with the united states is no small milestone. ththe article comes a woeek aft t

federal judge amy berman jackson said stone wasn't prosecuted for standing up for the president, he was prosecuted for covering up for the president. judge jackson echoed the closing arguments telling the court the truth still exists. the truth still matters. she also said quote at his core mr. stone is an insecure person who craves and recklessly pursues attention. nothing about this case was a joke. it wasn't funny. on top of his prison sentence, stone was given a $20,000 fine, two years of probation, and 250 hours of community service. he won't have to report to prison until the judge acts on a defense motion for a new trial. stone claims one of the jurors was biassed against president trump. >>> after the sentence was handed down, the president was weighing in on the matter during an event in las vegas. let's all take a listen. >> i'm following this very closely, and i want to see it play out to its fullest because roger has a very good chance of exoneration in my opinion. i'm not going to do anything in terms of the great powers bestowed upon a president of the united states. i wan

judge amy berman jackson made it clear if a pardon comes, it will be a corrupt pardon, it will be anbuse of pardon power because she said roger stone covered up the president's crimes, and if you issue a pardon to your criminal associate who tried to help you get away with crimes, that is corrupt. >> shannon, you have new reporting that the president's advisers are actually urging him to wait to pardon stone most likely until after the election. >> reporter: right. and really his advisers have been giving him this advice for several years when it comes to his associates caught up in the mueller investigation, paul manafort, michael flynn, now roger stone, telling the president stay calm, wait it out, after the election you can take some action if you want to, but don't do anything before that. it will just incite democrats too much. i think the case of roger stone is a bit different than manafort and flynn because trump and stone had such a long, deep relationship, a decades old relationship. and you can see that in the way the president is talking about stone in affectionate terms,

he was sentenced by federal judge amy berman jackson, the same judge in a photo stone posted last year on social media with what looked like a gun sight crosshairs near her head judge jackson said stone showed a flagrant disregard for american democracy when he lied to a house committee about his efforts to find out what wikileaks founder julian assange was up to with emails hacked by the russians about the hillary clinton campaign this was no political case, she said quote, you were not prosecuted for standing up for the president. you were prosecuted for covering up for the president. in a clear reference to president trump's relentless tweeting about the case, she said i is t's apdged a pson wh benefited politically from stone's conduct outside comments about the case, she said, were entirely inappropriate. the sentence, 3 1/3 years in prison, well below the maximum under federal guidelines >> i worry that people won't believe this is a fair outcome though i do believe it is intervention from political leaders casts a doubt on what happens in federal court. >> reporter: stone's lawy

judge amy berman jackson was scathing about stones conduct. "the truth still matters," she said. "roger stone's insistence that it doesn't are affected the foundation of our democracy." today in las vegas, th president spoke out in defense of mr. stone. pres. trump: he has become a big part of the news over the last little while, and i'm following this very closely, and i want to see it play out to its fullest, because roger is a very good chan of exoneration, in my opinion. laura:or more on this to my was joined earlier by joseph moreno, a former federal prosecutor. after all of the political inrvention in this case, what t is your reactithe sentence, three years for roger president, as the judge said? phjosetough words from judge jan about mr. stone, but at the end ofhe day, he camaway with a sentence that could have been a lot worse. it came full circle. the 40 months he was sentenced to today is righin line with the three-four-your recommendation the attorney ral made after overruli the seven-nine-your recommendation from th toriginal triam. while mr. stone and his supporters

based on what judge amy berman jackson said today, there is no way that a presidential pardon could be viewed by any rational person as an exoneratation because after she surveyed all the incriminating evidence that made it crystal clear that roger stone was guilty of these seven federal felonies, she then said, roger stone, what you did was a cover-up on behalf of the president. so based on the fact that a federal court judge put that on it record, there is no way donald trump can righteously pardon roger stone. it will be a corrupt act if he undertakes it. >> so the president of the united states who's getting help from vladimir putin in his re-election campaign is publicly considering a pardon for a guy who's convicted of covering up for the president of the united states involving communication about vladimir putin helping him get elected in 2016. that's where we are, glenn? >> that's where we are, and as steve bannon of all people testified at the roger stone trial, roger stone was the trump campaign's access point -- his term -- to wikileaks and julian assange. as you say, lawren

judge amy berman jackson deals with the allegations from roger stone and his attorneys in this ruling in what seems to me to be a remarkably restrained and even-handed manner. but even so, at the end of her ruling, the thing i think necessarily ends on a fairly blunt note. the judge concludes her ruling with this. quote, if parties could move to disqualify every judge who furrows his brow at one side or the other before ruling, the entire court system would come to a standstill. at bottom, given the absence of any factual or legal support for the motion for disqualification, this pleading appears to be nothing more than an attempt to use the court's docket to disseminate a statement for public consumption that has the words "judge" and "biased" in it. for these reasons, defendant's motion is hereby denied. so ordered. that was the ruling from the judge in roger stone's case as of yesterday, saying, no, i'm not going to disqualify myself, and, no, i'm not biased, and you are trying to create the public perception that i am. but that's not enough of a substantial reason for me to be dis

this is amy berman jackson, the judge sentencing the president's longtime adviser roger stone in a climate that can't be denied and that she didn't deny today, in a climate in which the president and much of the trump supportive conservative media and many republican members of congress have participated in, have created, this climate in which not only roger stone has been defended and the prosecution of him has been attacked, but the judge has been attacked. the department of justice has been attacked for bringing this prosecution. and the president has gone so far as to personally attack individual members of the jury for having had the temerity to convict roger stone. those were remarks today from judge jackson today in sentencing stone for lying to congress, obstructing an investigation, and threatening a witness who could have exposed his lies and obstruction. this case, of course, also engendered a true crisis in the u.s. justice system as more than 2,000 former justice department officials have called on attorney general bill barr to resign after the president criticized prosecutors

most also given 2 years probation and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine during the hearing judge amy berman jacksona verbal got lit on stone saying quote at his core mister stone is an insecure person who craze there recklessly pursues attention nothing about this case was a joke. it wasn't funny as senate thing played out president trump took to twitter questioning the fairness of the entire process, the president has been outspoken about stone's following this very closely and i want to see it play out to its fullest because roger is a very good chance of exoneration federal prosecutors originally asked the judge for a sentence of 7 to 9 years attorney general william barr and other top justice department officials later reduced the recommended sentence prompting all for federal prosecutors on the case to withdraw through it all still make clear the place to appeal this attacks there for just kron 4 news. let's get a check of the weather around the bay area grace is standing by murray said yeah let's take a look at your friday microclimate forecast because we're going to continue on this warming