Donald Trump is delivering a commencement address at the Hope for Prisoners Graduation Ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday afternoon, and thus far the speech is all about Roger Stone and…Donald Trump.
The remarks come shortly after a federal judge on Thursday sentenced Trump friend and longtime Republican operative Stone to more than three years in prison for lying to congress and witness tampering in an effort to protect the president. The case was related to Stone’s contacts with the Trump campaign related to Wikileaks.
It also comes in the same week that Trump went on a pardon spree, in which he commuted the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and pardoned former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, ex-49ers owner Edward DeBartolo and financier Michael Milken.
Hope for Prisoners is an organization that provides services to formerly incarcerated people that help them adjust to life outside of bars.
Trump definitely seems…off?
He was speaking very slowly and quietly, and seems almost anesthetized.
Trump first announced he wasn’t going to pardon Stone, at least not yet. He wants to see how the whole thing plays out…whatever that means.
Trump on Roger Stone: "I’m not going to do anything in terms of the great powers bestowed upon a president of the United States. I want the process to play out. I think that’s the best thing to do because I would love to see Roger exonerated."
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) February 20, 2020 [1]
Then Trump claimed the forewoman on Stone’s trial was anti-Trump and therefore is not able to be trusted.
Trump on Roger Stone: "The forewoman of the jury, the woman who was in charge, is totally tainted when you take a look. How can you have a person like this? She was an anti-Trump activist"
Goes on to claim she's a "dominant person, so she can get people to do whatever she wants" pic.twitter.com/TqZY0wHIi0 [2]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 20, 2020 [3]
Of course this is not true, but Trump gets in his lie anyway.
Trump criticizes the jury forewoman in the Stone case as "an anti-Trump person," despite Judge Amy Berman Jackson today praising the jurors for their service and impartiality.
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) February 20, 2020 [4]
I don’t even know what this is? Just Trump denigrating the people in our own Justice Department.
Trump is not trying to be funny as he bashes the FBI but his audience is laughing like he's doing a standup routine pic.twitter.com/4mJtHvk1po [5]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 20, 2020 [6]
And then he gets to Hillary, because of course he did. He wants Hillary locked up and Roger Stone free.
Trump whines at length that Hillary Clinton wasn't prosecuted pic.twitter.com/5c5LnyFX0C [7]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 20, 2020 [8]