Barbara McQuade writes:

Truth still matters in some places. A courtroom is one of them.

In imposing a 40-month sentence on Roger Stone, Judge Amy Berman Jackson did something that the executive and legislative branches have been unwilling to do lately — defend truth.

Stone appeared before Jackson in her courtroom in Washington, D.C., on Thursday following his conviction at trial of seven counts of lying to Congress, obstructing justice and tampering with a witness. The crimes occurred in the course of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The jury found that Stone lied five times during his testimony and hindered the House in its investigation. He was further convicted of threatening physical harm to another witness, Randy Credico.

The sentencing of President Donald Trump’s longtime confidant comes after assaults on truth from the other branches of government. Trump has distorted facts from the executive branch,retweeting that “DOJ-Mueller Operatives ABUSED POWERS to ‘Punish’ Roger Stone.”The day after federal prosecutors filed a memorandum recommending a sentence of seven to nine years, consistent with U.S. sentencing guidelines, Trump tweeted, “This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” [Continue reading…]