#Trump defends Roger Stone commutation, blasts ‘illegal Witch Hunt’

President Trump defended his decision to commute the sentence of his longtime ally Roger Stone, tweeting Saturday that the process leading to his conviction had been illegal.

“Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaign – AND GOT CAUGHT!” Trump said.

After months of hinting, Trump made the commutation official late Friday evening.

“Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency,” he said in a statement. “He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!”

The commutation came just days before Stone was set to begin serving a 40-month sentence after being found guilty of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.

Stone, a longtime GOP operative, has been close to Trump for decades. Unlike other insiders targeted by the Special Counsel probe, he consistently maintained his innocence and refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Democrats denounced the commutation en masse Friday, grousing that the president was undermining the criminal justice system.

“Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a tweet.