Trump news: President attacked over 'vile smear job' after claims of meddling in Roger Stone case

Trump denies interfering in Roger Stone sentencing

Donald Trump is receiving swift backlash for claiming without evidence that “rogue prosecutors” were possibly responsible for handing his longtime associate Roger Stone a lengthy prison sentence, as Bernie Sanders' celebrates victory in New Hampshire.

The president's comments were described as a "vile smear job" by a key witness as former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said in a tweet: "Justice must be blind." Mr Trump's incendiary tweets came shortly after prosecutors said Stone should be sentenced to seven-to-nine years for lying to Congress during an investigation into Russian interference in the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, results from New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary continued to be dissected throughout the day, as Mr Sanders' strong showing appeared to place him on a clearer path to securing the Democratic nomination than ever before. Pete Buttiegieg and Amy Klobuchar, who trailed the Vermont senator respectively, have also since thanked supporters for their solid performances on Tuesday night.

The attorneys then resigned from the case after the Justice Department overruled them and said it would take the extraordinary step of lowering the amount of prison time it would seek for Stone.

The departures on Tuesday raised immediate questions over whether Mr Trump, who earlier in the day had blasted the original sentencing recommendation as “very horrible and unfair,” had at least indirectly exerted his will on a Justice Department that he often views as an arm of the White House.

The department insisted the decision to undo the sentencing recommendation was made Monday night — before Mr Trump’s tweet — and prosecutors had not spoken to the White House about it.

Even so, the departures of the entire trial team broke open a simmering dispute over the punishment of a Trump ally whose case has long captured the Republican president’s attention.

The episode was the latest to entangle the Justice Department, meant to operate free from White House sway in criminal investigations and prosecutions, in presidential politics.

The four attorneys, including two who were early members of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia team, comprised the entire Justice Department trial team that won convictions against Stone last fall.

Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Key Points

• Bernie Sanders wins New Hampshire, pledges 'beginning of the end' for Trump
• President mocks key candidates and Michael Bloomberg who was not on ballot
• Trump appears to admit AG meddled in Roger Stone case after earlier denial
• President suggests Pentagon should review Alexander Vindman's conduct
• Pelosi, Schumer call new budget proposal 'blueprint for destroying America'

[12 February 2020 13:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Twitter user changes name to 'Bernie beats Trump' after the president retweets him

One of the only liberal aspects of Donald Trump is his use of retweets, the president jabbing them out with abandon whenever he sees a line he likes, never checking its provenance.

Yesterday, he got caught out and doesn't appear to have noticed.

Here's Greg Evans from Indy100 to explain.

[12 February 2020 13:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Harrison Ford calls Trump a ‘son of a b****’

Indiana Jones spoke for the nation on last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live! as he mocked the president's "perfect" Ukraine call.

Louis Chilton has the full story.

[12 February 2020 13:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Hillary Clinton labels Trump 'failed-state fascist'

While Ford's dismissal of the president was reasonably jovial, his 2016 rival was far less restrained in her criticism of his attempt to intimidate federal judge Amy Berman Jackson, presiding over the Roger Stone sentencing.

[12 February 2020 14:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Larry Sanders on Brexit, Boris and why only Bernie can beat Trump

For Indy100, Louis Staples sat down with Bernie Sanders' brother to ask him why  the Vermont senator is the only choice to take on the president in 2020.

[12 February 2020 14:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump hosting Ecuadorian president at White House

Here's the Big Man's schedule for the day.

[12 February 2020 14:47 · Chris Riotta]

Republican Party celebrates a Trump victory in New Hampshire

The GOP is celebrating Donald Trump's victory in New Hampshire last night, as the Republican incumbent maintains over 90 percent support within the party according to the latest national surveys:

[12 February 2020 15:14 · Chris Riotta]

 Here's The Independent's Washington Bureau Chief John Bennet with the latest on Donald Trump's reaction to the Roger Stone sentencing:

In his latest brazen move since being acquitted on impeachment charges, Donald Trump appeared to applaud his hand-picked attorney general for softening the sentence recommendation for his former campaign aide and friend, Roger Stone.

After Democratic lawmakers and legal experts panned the president on Tuesday for using a tweet to trigger Attorney General William Barr to step in and lessen what was to be a nine-year sentencing recommendation for the longtime GOP political operative, Mr Trump showed the next morning he is feeling free to wield his power in new ways.

"Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought. Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted," Mr Trump wrote in a tweet.

[12 February 2020 15:29 · Chris Riotta]

Bernie Sanders predicts a victory after winning in New Hampshire

The Vermont senator is celebrating his decisive victory in New Hampshire with a message to his supporters saying he plans to "win because we have the agenda that speaks to the needs of working people". 

[12 February 2020 15:50 · Chris Riotta]

The Independent's Adam Withnall has the latest on Donald Trump's upcoming India trip:

Donald Trump says he has been told to expect “millions and millions of people” lined up to greet him when he and Melania Trump undertake their first visit to India later this month.

Speaking in the Oval Office, the US president called Indian prime minister Narendra Modi “a friend of mine” and “a great gentleman”, and hinted at the prospect of signing a limited trade agreement during the trip.

Mr Trump will travel to India on 24 and 25 February and as well as the capital Delhi, he is set to be given a grand welcome at the new 110,000-capacity Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, billed as the largest stadium of its kind in the world.

[12 February 2020 16:10 · Chris Riotta]

A key witness in the Roger Stone trial reportedly described Donald Trump’s accusations of meddling in the case as “appalling and ominous” in a statement, saying: “Trump's vile smear job on the 4 DC prosecutors were appalling and ominous … In my experience, I found them to be professional, moral, ethical and non partisan."

Randy Credico, an associate of Stone, also added on Twitter: “As the son of a man who spent 10 years in prison, I have consistantly [sic] opposed incarceration.”