WASHINGTON — Citing a report from Fox News, President Trump said Thursday the jury that convicted his friend Roger J. Stone Jr. had a biased member — a claim by the defense team that had been dismissed by a federal judge a day earlier.
It was not immediately clear why Mr. Trump put the word “justice” in quotes, as he praised the leader of the Justice Department, Attorney General William P. Barr, on Wednesday for a decision to override a sentencing recommendation for Mr. Stone.
In a previously sealed filing, Mr. Stone argued that one of the jurors was biased against Mr. Trump and therefore he deserved a new trial. On Wednesday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled against that motion in the U.S. District Court in Washington. Mr. Stone’s sentencing is set for later this month.
Mr. Stone was convicted last year of seven felonies for obstructing a congressional inquiry, lying to investigators and trying to block testimony from a witness. He faces time in prison, though how long he should serve has been the source of a dispute between the prosecutors on the case and leaders in the department.
Calling out juror bias is Mr. Trump’s latest criticism of the case against Mr. Stone.