Jackson, Amy B Hon

note when trump targets, thugswarm or worse follows<div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/roger-stone/roger-stones-right-wing-media-allies-grasp-straws-attacks-judge-amy-berman-jackson">https://www.mediamatters.org/roger-stone/roger-stones-right-wing-media-allies-grasp-straws-attacks-judge-amy-berman-jackson</a></div><div>
</div><div>no docs</div><div>
</div><div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden fielditem" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Right-wing media figures who are attacking Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who recently sentenced Trump confidant and friend Roger Stone to prison, either don’t understand the basic mechanisms of the federal legal system or don’t want their viewers to.On February 20, Jackson <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/politics/roger-stone-sentencing-hearing/index.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">sentenced</a> Stone to 40 months in prison after a jury <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/roger-stone-found-guilty-counts/story?id=67015102" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">convicted</a> him of seven charges stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, including lying to Congress, obstructing an official proceeding, and witness tampering. Jackson, however, put a decision on hold about when Stone would report to prison while she considers a motion from Stone’s legal team for a new trial based on a claim that the jury foreperson was biased against Stone.A hearing was held on that topic on February 25 and Jackson has yet to rule, though <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/25/judge-rebukes-trump-roger-stone-jury-117442" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">according</a> to Politico she “appears headed toward dismissing the defendant’s motion for a new trial” after Stone’s legal team failed to make a convincing argument. In any case, Trump has signaled that he is receptive to calls from Stone’s right-wing media defenders to issue a pardon that would eliminate Stone’s prison sentence. According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/25/roger-stone-received-fair-trial-attacking-jurors-undermines-our-service/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Seth Cousins</a>, who served on the jury, the foreperson actually “expressed skepticism at some of the government’s claims and was one of the last people to vote to convict on the charge that took most of our deliberation time.” Cousins also wrote that the foreperson “oversaw a rigorous process, slowing us down on several occasions and advocating for the rights of the defendant.” Still, Stone’s allies and Trump himself have waged a public campaign against the foreperson, including <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/25/judge-rebukes-trump-roger-stone-jury-117442" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">during</a> yesterday’s hearing. In addition to attacks on the foreperson, Stone defenders are launching attacks on Jackson herself, including baselessly calling into question her impartiality and even spreading falsehoods about how Jackson would conduct the post-conviction retrial hearing. During his February 25 radio broadcast, Fox News host Sean Hannity <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-launches-unhinged-attack-against-judge-roger-stone-trial" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">said</a>, “You had a political activist judge running the show, the same judge in the [Paul] Manafort case,” before asking, “How is it these judges, lifetime appointments, they get away with murder?” Similarly, Fox News host Tucker Carlson <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/tucker-carlson-calls-judge-roger-stone-case-corrupt-dishonest-and-authoritarian-and" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">scandalized</a> the fact that Jackson “was appointed by Barack Obama” in order to call her “an openly partisan Democrat.” He also said that she is “a disgrace to the judiciary” and is “corrupt, dishonest and authoritarian.”It is a basic fact of our political system that federal judges are nominated by presidents who are members of political parties and these judges <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/about-federal-judges" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">serve</a> lifetime appointments “during good behavior.” And it’s a basic fact of life that some criminal defendants will be charged with federal crimes that arise out of political matters, which is what happened in Stone’s case. There is a simple reason that Jackson is presiding over both the Stone and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort cases. She was <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/defendants-special-counsels-probe-path-justice-starts-judge/story?id=61083213" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">randomly assigned</a> the Manafort case and it is the standard practice of the federal judiciary system to then give judges any other cases that may have overlapping evidence.Prior to being assigned a number of cases stemming from the Mueller investigation, Jackson sentenced a high-profile political figure to prison -- a Democrat -- and arguably showed less leniency than she did in Stone’s case. In 2013, Jackson sentenced former member of Congress Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) to 30 months in prison and fined him $750,000 after a jury convicted him of illegally using campaign funds. Prosecutors had <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-jackson/ex-u-s-congressman-jesse-jackson-jr-sentenced-to-30-months-in-prison-idUSBRE97D10B20130814" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">recommended</a> Jackson Jr. spend four years in prison, meaning Jackson sentenced him to 63% of the time prosecutors requested. While <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/19/dojs-reversal-roger-stone-sentencing-worries-prosecutors-judges/4805363002/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">senior officials</a> of the Justice Department <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-really-happened-roger-stone-sentencing" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">interfered</a> in the sentencing recommendation against Stone, when the sentencing hearing took place, newly assigned prosecutors to the case <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/483902-prosecutor-defends-initial-doj-recommendation-at-stone-sentencing" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">ended up defending</a> the initial recommendation of seven to nine years. Jackson sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison, or 37-47% of what prosecutors asked for. Stone was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/roger-stone-sentencing/h_c11aacd6f1780974d7f7b82b0023ec83" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">fined</a> $20,000.False information about how Jackson would conduct the hearing for a new trial was also broadcast on Fox News by its chief legal analyst Andrew Napolitano. During a February 25 appearance hours before the hearing, Napolitano <a href="https://video.foxnews.com/v/6135723464001#sp=show-clips" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">joined</a> Fox & Friends and characterized the hearing as “secret” while claiming Jackson “won’t give a reason why” and saying, “You combine secrecy and silence and that is a recipe for totalitarianism.”The publicly available docket for Stone’s trial shows that wasn’t the case:[doc]as  the docket text explains, a public hearing and a sealed hearing was scheduled for February 25. After the public hearing, where members of the public could sit in the courtroom, Jackson <a href="https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1232380418046951425" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">cleared the room</a>, but said that <a href="https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1232382177121329152" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">audio of the hearing</a> would be available in a listening room. The purpose of this move was solely to protect the publishing of the names and physical characteristics of members of the jury, who had been gathered at the courthouse for potential questioning. The public was still free to listen to and evaluate the substance of the hearing. The transcript of the hearing <a href="https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1232380625463762945" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">will also not be sealed</a> and will only be redacted in instances of personal information. (In any case, the jury foreperson, who <a href="https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1232423026324623363" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">was questioned</a>, had previously publicly identified herself in a social media post, and the media subsequently <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/25/roger-stone-judge-cites-trump-tweet-on-juror-in-hearing-on-new-trial.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">reported</a> her identity.) Jackson also offered a rationale for her decision, contrary to what Napolitano claimed was happening. </div></div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden fielditem" style="box-sizing: border-box;">As <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/25/politics/roger-stone-hearing-juror-amy-berman-jackson/index.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">reported</a> by CNN, “Jackson read one of the President's past tweets attacking the Stone jury forewoman, as well as commentary from InfoWars' Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson from Fox News, to a federal courtroom, in deciding to hear testimony from jurors while protecting their identities after Stone asked for a retrial.” Indeed during the trial, Jones’ far-right conspiracy theory Infowars outlet, where Stone previously worked as a show host, led <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/roger-stone/alex-jones-trying-out-identity-potential-roger-stone-trial-juror-help-stones-assistant" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">a campaign</a> to <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-threatens-out-jury-roger-stone-trial" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">out</a> juror identities while making <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-vows-release-name-potential-juror-roger-stone-trial" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">disparaging</a> remarks about them. During the trial, Jackson said that those efforts put peoples’ <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/446788513/Roger-Stone-initial-sentencing-memo" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">safety at risk</a>. The attacks from conservative media against Jackson are intertwined with Trump’s own attacks against the judge. While the hearing was underway, Trump shared on Twitter a Fox News article about Jackson that Napolitano had tweeted, adding, “A total miscarriage of justice!”</div></div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--twitter-tweet paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field field--name-field-twitter-tweet field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden fielditem" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden fielditem" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/roger-stone-judge-trial-amy-berman-jackson-president-trump" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">article</a> in question was published on February 22 and in it Trump-supporting lawyer David Schoen argued that Jackson should be removed from the case because at sentencing she offered generic praise of the jury’s work -- the same legal argument that Stone’s lawyers used in a filing that Jackson would <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/23/roger-stone-judge-berman-jackson-117066" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">dismiss</a> days later in a “sharply worded order” that “dressed down Stone's defense team for using the court's docket to air what she said were meritless claims that she is biased against him.”---related sean Hannity launches unhinged attack against judge in Roger Stone trial02/25/20 Inside the right-wing media campaign to rig the justice system in favor of Roger Stone and Donald Trump
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Alex Jones' Infowars interfered with criminal proceedings against Stone at every step, and Fox's Tucker Carlson is leading demands that Stone be pardoned
WRITTEN BY TIMOTHY JOHNSONPUBLISHED 02/12/20 
Right-wing media outlets, led by Trump allies at Infowars and Fox News, have waged a months-long campaign to interfere with criminal proceedings against Roger Stone. Now that Stone has been convicted of seven felonies and is facing the possibility of significant jail time, his conservative and far-right media defenders are drumming up support for President Donald Trump to pardon him. 
Longtime Trump confidant and friend Stone, who prosecutors argued committed his crimes in a bid to protect Trump, will be sentenced in federal court on February 20, though Trump could issue a pardon at any time. In recent days, Stone’s case has been thrown into chaos, as leaders at the Department of Justice have meddled with the sentencing recommendations of the DOJ line prosecutors who tried Stone in court, resulting in all four prosecutors withdrawing from the case.CitationVideo by Miles Le 
After Stone was arrested, he used his Infowars platform to publicly litigate his caseStone was arrested in Florida on January 25, 2019, during an early morning FBI raid of his house and subsequently charged with seven felonies related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, including lying to Congress, intimidating a witness, and obstructing an official proceeding. After appearing in court that day and being released on his own recognizance, he made his first media appearance on Infowars, where at the time he was a co-host of the weekday afternoon show War Room. Speaking with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Stone denied he had committed any crimes and promised not to testify against Trump, saying, “There’s no circumstance in which I would bear false witness against the president.” (In December 2018, Trump had faced allegations of witness tampering after he approvingly tweeted a purported quote from Stone that said, “I will never testify against Trump.”) Stone also promoted his legal defense fund several times. 
Stone’s immediate run to Infowars made sense. The outlet had already been doing damage control for Stone as it became increasingly apparent he was in legal jeopardy. Infowars had been waging a public relations campaign against former Infowars employee Jerome Corsi in an attempt to pin any 2016 election-related wrongdoing on Corsi -- who at the time appeared to have significant legal exposure from Mueller -- rather than Stone. Part of the pressure campaign involved Infowars warning Corsi not to give inculpatory testimony during a grand jury appearance about Stone’s involvement in WikiLeaks’ dissemination of hacked emails, the issue Stone would later be convicted of lying to Congress over. 
Infowars then became Stone’s public forum to litigate the charges against him. In an appearance four days after his arrest, Stone attempted to explain away the witness tampering charge he was later convicted of. On his show War Room, Stone said he hadn’t encouraged radio host Randy Credico to lie to Congress to prevent him from implicating Stone in a crime, but rather so that Credico’s liberal friends wouldn’t find out he supported Trump and get mad at him.
Stone continued to use Infowars to attack his critics. During the February 8 edition of his show, Stone complained about “leftist retards” talking about his upcoming trial. On February 12, he mentioned CNN commentator Ana Navarro, asking, “What qualifies her other than her ethnicity to comment on anything?” and saying, “Let’s see if she celebrates my acquittal,” before calling her “porquita.” During the broadcast, he also highlighted the role of Infowars in his legal defense, saying, “I’ve told you about the vital role that Infowars plays in the strategy for my defense. If I can’t come here, if I can’t come on The Alex Jones Show, if I can’t come on the morning show with David Knight, if I can’t come on the War Room, then there’s no forum where I can really go to tell people the complete story about what’s going on.”
Stone also used Infowars to praise his friend, the president. During the February 18 broadcast of The Alex Jones Show, he alleged that Trump was the victim of a “globalist” coup attempt led by elements in the FBI and DOJ and railed against the special counsel office, which was leading the criminal prosecution against him. Stone also flattered Trump, saying, “If he’s so incapacitated, why do we have 4.8 million new jobs, for example?” He added that Trump is a “leader” who is “keeping faith with the very people that voted for him.”
After Stone was placed under a gag order for posting an image showing firearm crosshairs next to the judge in his case, Infowars picked up the slackBut Stone also did something on February 18 that would stop him from fighting his legal case through Infowars when he posted an image on Instagram that showed the federal judge overseeing his case, Amy Berman Jackson, next to apparent firearm crosshairs. Stone was already operating under a gag order that prevented him from speaking about his case on the steps of the courthouse where it was being tried, but Jackson expanded the order in a February 21 hearing to prohibit Stone from talking about his case anywhere, with the caveat that he could still profess his innocence and solicit money for his legal defense fund. 
But Stone’s boss, Alex Jones, picked up where he left off. During a February 25 broadcast, Jones compared Judge Jackson to Hitler and attempted to link Mueller to Jeffrey Epstein. He also echoed language Stone had used on his show, claiming that Stone was being pressured “to bear false witness against the president” and also addressed Trump directly, saying, “And we can talk about how great Trump is all day, but he’s asleep at the switch. Tweets don’t do it, President; protect us.”
As Stone’s trial approached, he stopped appearing on Infowars but continued to go right up to the line imposed by his gag order in other public forums. During an April interview with pro-Trump propaganda outlet One America News Network, Stone complained that he was facing “process crime charges,” echoing a right-wing media talking point that had been used to attack the charges against him. In July, Stone again ran afoul of the gag order after Jackson agreed with prosecutors who said some of his Instagram posts counted as disallowed commentary on his case. Stone was banned from using social media as a result of the violation.  
Stone made one exception to his silence on Infowars while he was under gag in the pre-trial phase. In an October 25 appearance, he discussed topics unrelated to his case and made flattering comments about Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham.Alex Jones and his Infowars outlet attempted to interfere with the trial process in a way that the court said put people in dangerStone’s trial occurred in November, and Infowars attempted to interfere on his behalf -- Stone had since officially left the outlet -- throughout the proceedings. During the jury selection phase, Infowars attempted to out the identities of jurors on the trial with the help of Jacob Engels, Stone’s assistant. Amid the outing attempts, in which they named at least two people who were not actually on the jury, Jones attacked the jurors, claiming that they were involved in a setup against Stone. According to a transcript from the trial cited in a Department of Justice sentencing memo, Jackson said that Jones’ actions caused “great consternation among members of the public” and put “the safety of all the people associated with this case, on both sides, and including, possibly, the jurors, at risk.”As the jury deliberated, Stone passed a message through Alex Jones asking Trump to pardon himThe sentencing memo also mentioned Jones with respect to an incident that occured while the jury was deliberating Stone’s case. During his November 14 broadcast, Jones shared a purported message from Stone in which Stone said, “I appeal to the president to pardon me because to do so would be an action that would show these corrupt courts that they’re not going to get away with persecuting people for their free speech or for the crime of getting the president elected.” Jones then encouraged people to call the White House to demand Stone be pardoned and continued to attack the “libtard jurors.”
Video file05:06CitationFrom the November 14, 2019, broadcast of Infowars' The Alex Jones Show
Other right-wing media figures -- and even more extreme right-wingers -- have joined Infowars in campaigning for a pardon for StoneStone was convicted on all counts the next day, November 15. Reacting to the news on air, Jones read an angry text message from one of Stone’s lawyers that said Jones’ broadcast of Stone’s pardon request almost caused Stone to be remanded into custody immediately upon conviction, as the ongoing gag order also prohibited Stone from commenting on his case in public forums through surrogates. Jones defended his conduct by saying he was just “doing what Roger said.” Post-conviction, many other members of right-wing media -- most notably Tucker Carlson on his Fox News broadcast -- publicly pleaded with Trump to issue a pardon. According to reporting from The Daily Beast, sources close to Trump say that “as a platform for pro-Stone messaging,” Carlson’s show “is potent enough that Trump allies who seek leniency for the Stone have specifically sought to appear … in order to get the message to the president” and that Trump watches segments about Stone on the show and discusses them with others. 
Between conviction and sentencing, Infowars’ advocacy for Stone crossed into the territory of violent rhetoric. During a late November broadcast, Stone’s former co-host Owen Shroyer said, “Roger Stone’s fate is our fate. So if Roger Stone gets thrown in jail and dies in jail, that’s the rest of our fate. We’re all going to die from these left-wing politicos, whether that’s in jail or from a bullet [in] the head.” Stone’s assistant Engels cited the saying “would you rather die on your knees or die fighting standing up?” and Shroyer responded, “We’re not calling for violence. … But let me tell you, when you start to use the government and these bureaucracies against us, and you take away our freedom of speech, and you take away our right to a fair trial, and you take away our right to bear arms, what are we supposed to do? We’re not going to be your damn slaves.”
Video file01:33CitationFrom the November 26, 2019, edition of Infowars The War RoomAs the sentencing date approached, chaos reigned while high-level DOJ figures interfered in the caseAfter an extension, Stone’s sentencing was scheduled for February 20. The latest flashpoint in the case began on February 10, when the DOJ and Stone’s attorneys submitted their sentencing recommendations to the court. While Stone’s attorneys asked for no jail time, the DOJ recommended seven to nine years, garnering a late-night tweet from Trump about the “horrible and very unfair” recommendation. Chaos ensued on February 11 when reports began circulating that the DOJ would issue an amended sentencing recommendation. All four of the federal prosecutors who worked on the initial sentencing memo quit the case (one prosecutor left the DOJ altogether) and an amended sentencing memo calling the initial recommendation excessive was filed with the court. As rumors swirled throughout the day about the modified memo, Fox News’ Sean Hannity said on his radio show, “Something is happening that is very deep. I'm telling you this is a big deal.” Later, he praised the DOJ’s move to amend the memo on his Fox News broadcast.
Throughout Stone’s criminal trial saga, Infowars has repeatedly promoted in videos and articles the catchphrase “free Roger Stone.” In reaction to the initial sentencing memo, Infowars.com published an article criticizing the filing that provided readers with a phone number to call the White House to ask Trump to pardon Stone. On air, Jones purported to share inside information about internal discussions in the White House about Stone’s fate. Jones said that he talked to “somebody this morning who was there inside the White House meetings dealing with” the Stone situation and that Trump would issue a pardon for Stone following the February 20 sentencing. The pardon push was also seen in (slightly) more mainstream conservative media, with Carlson demanding during his February 11 broadcast that Trump pardon Stone.
Video file00:59CitationFrom the February 11, 2020, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight
If Stone is pardoned, he would be the latest beneficiary of a corrupt system in which Trump grants pardons based on what he sees on conservative mediaStone’s allies are prescient to make the pardon case through conservative media. In November, Media Matters’ Matt Gertz chronicled the “Fox News pardon pipeline” and concluded that “Donald Trump’s Fox News obsession is directly linked to at least nine of his grants of executive clemency.” Despite its extreme character, Infowars has also apparently been previously influential in at least one pardon situation. Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was pardoned by Trump before he could be sentenced for refusing to comply with a court order that enjoined his racially discriminatory law enforcement practices, credited Infowars with his clemency grant. Appearing on The Alex Jones Show in August 2017, Arpaio praised Infowars as having real influence in getting his story before Trump inside the White House. Arpaio’s pardon was granted following months of Infowars public advocacy.
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