Former prosecutor: Roger Stone got off easy because U.S. attorney was 'afraid of the president'


In prepared congressional testimony to be delivered Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Zelinsky said he "repeatedly heard" President Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone received "unprecedentedly favorable treatment" while he was prosecuted for lying to Congress.
Zelinsky, one of four federal prosecutors who withdrew from the case, will also testify that then-acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Shea complied with pressure from the "highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break," adding that he was "explicitly told" Shea was "afraid of the president," which eventually resulted in reducing Stone's sentencing recommendation.
Zelinsky will appear Wednesday alongside antitrust prosecutor John Elias, who reportedly plans to testify that Attorney General William Barr ordered the Justice Department's Antitrust Division to launch politically motivated reviews of 10 cannabis mergers. Read Zelinsky's full prepared testimony here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Magazine solutions - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
-
Magazine printables - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
-
Controversial GOP plan to sell millions of federal acres hits major roadblock
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republican Sen. Mike Lee says he'll revisit legislation to sell millions of acres of federally held land to create 'freedom zones' of single family homes
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.