Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months in prison

Roger Stone, President Trump's former campaign adviser, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Stone received his sentence from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday after he was in November found guilty on seven counts, including witness tampering and making false statements to Congress.

Stone's sentencing had been the subject of controversy after federal prosecutors asked for between seven and nine years in prison for him, only for the Justice Department to suddenly change course after Trump criticized the recommendation. Four prosecutors subsequently quit the case.

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During the hearing, Jackson said she agreed that Stone should receive a longer sentence due to his witness intimidation, reports Politico's Darren Samuelsohn. She went on to say she thinks seven to nine years for Stone is too harsh, although she said probation would be "insufficient," per The Washington Post's Rachel Weiner.

Jackson said Thursday before announcing Stone's sentencing that he was "not prosecuted for standing up for the president" but rather for "covering up for the president." She also described Stone as an "insecure person who craves and recklessly pursues attention," and she seemed to respond to Trump's criticism of the case by saying "there was nothing unfair, phony or disgraceful about the investigation or the prosecution."

Despite Attorney General William Barr recently complaining that Trump's tweets about Justice Department cases were making it "impossible for me to do my job," Trump on Thursday tweeted about the sentencing hearing. He previously tweeted out a clip of Tucker Carlson recommending Trump pardon Stone, and The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reports he has "talked to a number of advisers about the possibility" of commuting Stone's sentence.