Rep. Stefanik Denies Roger Stone's Claims She Wanted Him in Jail

Rep. Elise Stefanik Friday flatly denied claims made by President Donald Trump's ally Roger Stone that she'd tried to convince the president not to pardon or commute his 40-month sentence. 

"When I talk to the president it's about issues with the 21st Congressional District," the New York Republican said on Fox News's "America's Newsroom." "I support the president's choice. I also think that this highlights how corrupt the (Robert) Mueller investigation has been and it's disconcerting to people who see that top aide that are donating and actively working to campaigns for Joe Biden are also the same people who donated and actively campaign for Hillary Clinton. My focus is always on my district."

Stone claimed on Fox News Radio that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Stefanik "were lobbying the president against any act of clemency. They, I guess, wanted me to die in a fetid, squalid hellhole in Georgia of coronavirus."

Politico reported this week that according to a source, McCarthy and Stefanik were with a group of GOP lawmakers who went with Trump on Air Force on to Florida in May to watch the launch of a SpaceX rocket. The source said Trump told the lawmakers he intended to grant clemency to Stone. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said Trump should give Stone a reprieve immediately, but McCarthy and Stefanik said he should consider waiting until after the election. 

"That is inaccurate and again I have not advocated on any part of any issues to the president," Stefanik said. "I always advocate for issues important to my district so the conversations with the president have been focused on support for rural hospitals, our needs across the country, and our need for Fort Drum."

Commutations are decisions presidents have to make, she added, but in her conversation with Trump, "it only went down for my district."

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