Roger Stone Judge Questions Latest Request to Delay Prison Arrival

(Bloomberg) -- The judge who sentenced President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Roger Stone to 40 months behind bars isn’t rubber stamping his latest request to delay going to prison due to the pandemic.

Stone on Tuesday asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to extend his surrender date at the medium-security federal lockup in Jesup, Georgia, from June 30 to Sept. 3, citing the threat from the virus due to his age and medical condition. The judge granted two earlier requests by Stone, and the government isn’t challenging a third extension, according to the filing.

But Jackson on Tuesday night ordered prosecutors to explain the reasons for their position in a filing with the court by June 25. She said the government must also provide results of Covid-19 tests at the Jesup facility that were described in Stone’s motion as pending.

Jackson’s decision to seek additional information came as the House Judiciary Committee will hear from a former Stone prosecutor who says improper political pressure was applied to reduce the Justice Department’s recommended sentence.

Stone, 67, has appealed his conviction and accused the judge of being unfair.

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