Roger Stone drops appeal of conviction for lying to Congress

Roger Stone is no longer appealing his conviction, weeks after President Trump commuted his sentence.

In a five-page court filing late Monday, Stone asked to withdraw his appeal, ending a case that had stirred controversy from the start, with his televised arrest. The Republican operative and backer of Trump was convicted in November of lying to Congress during a probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Stone gave no reason for his decision to drop the appeal.

All the prosecutors withdrew from the Stone case after the Justice Department reduced its original sentencing recommendation. The judge eventually sentenced him to more than three years in a federal prison in Georgia. Last month, the president commuted the sentence, meaning Stone wouldn’t be incarcerated but would remain a convicted felon, unless he successfully appealed.

Stone, 67, had said he was eager to clear his name and overturn a conviction that he says was the result of a politically biased judge and jury — claims frequently echoed by Trump. “A pardon includes acceptance of guilt and ends the appeals process. The commutation allows me to go forward with the appeals,” Stone said in a July text message.

“Roger Stone was treated horribly. Roger Stone was treated very unfairly. Roger Stone was brought into this witch hunt, this whole political witch hunt, the Mueller scam,” Trump said on July 11. “I’m very happy with what I did.”