'Witch Hunt': Trump commutes longtime adviser Roger Stone's prison sentence

FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone departs after he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for charges that include lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, sparing him from prison after he was convicted of lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Trump's decision to commute Stone's sentence days before he was due to report to prison marked the Republican president's most assertive intervention to protect an associate in a criminal case and his latest use of executive clemency to benefit an ally. Democrats condemned Trump's action, announced on Friday evening, as an assault on the rule of law.