GOP senators say Trump shouldn't weigh in on pending sentences
By Jordain Carney - 02/12/20 01:03 PM EST
Some Republican senators said on Wednesday that President Trump shouldn't weigh in on pending sentences after he publicly criticized an initial recommendation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the case of Roger Stone.
The comments come as senators are facing an onslaught of questions over DOJ's decision to lower its sentencing recommendation for Stone, a Trump associate, overriding front-line prosecutors.
"I don't like this chain of events where you have a ... proceeding, a sentencing, a recommended sentence, the president weighs in and all of the sudden Justice comes back, says 'change the deal.' I think most people would look at that and say 'hmm, that just doesn't look right.' And I think they're right," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters.
Murkowski added while she didn’t “think the president should be determining what the sentences are,†she also didn’t expect that he would make the ultimate decision. Stone’s prison sentence will be decided by an Obama-appointed federal judge.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters that Trump "should not have gotten involved."
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/482768-gop-senators-trump-shouldnt-weigh-in-on-pending-sentences