Those around the president warned him that commuting Roger Stone was politically risky. But Trump, believing that his base would stick with him, did it anyway.
WASHINGTON — Some White House officials were against offering clemency to Roger Stone and were outraged by President Donald Trump's decision to do so Friday night, people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Attorney General William Barr discussed Stone's sentence with Trump and recommended clemency not be offered, according to multiple sources, and other White House officials, including Meadows, also advised the president against the commutation. Trump's decision to ignore the advice of those arounds him was also rooted in the president's belief that his base would not disapprove of his decision to commute Stone.
Story continuesAsked on Saturday why he didn't take Barr's advice cautioning him against granting Stone clemency, Trump said,"Well, he didn't say that. No, the attorney general, about a week or two ago, had made a statement, but that was long before anybody knew what I was going to do."
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