By Khorri Atkinson

Law360 (July 9, 2020, 8:18 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Department of Justice in a sudden reversal said Thursday it no longer supports longtime GOP operative Roger Stone's bid to delay the start of his 40 months prison sentence by two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Stone, an ally of President Donald Trump who was sentenced earlier this year for obstructing probes into Russian election interference, witness tampering and lying to Congress, had asked the D.C. Circuit Monday to undo U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson's recent order denying his request to delay reporting for prison until September.

The DOJ, which did not oppose Stone's bid to Judge Jackson last month, told the appeals court that the judge appropriately ordered Stone to report to prison July 14, rebutting assertions by the self-described political "dirty trickster" that the judge failed to address the evidence demonstrating that he is at considerable risk from serious health consequences, including death, if his surrender date is not extended.

"Although the government did not oppose appellant's 60-day extension request, the district court's independent decision to extend appellant's self-surrender date for 14 days is a reasonable exercise of that court's discretion based on the totality of the factual and legal circumstances, particularly given appellant's failure to satisfy the statutory requirements for his continued release pending appeal," the department wrote in a response brief to Stone's appeal. "Accordingly, the government supports the district court's ruling, and this court should affirm it."

In her order, unsealed on June 29, the judge said Stone must report to prison July 14 and had to remain in home confinement until then. Judge Jackson said there aren't currently any cases of COVID-19 at the medium-security federal correctional facility in Jesup, Georgia, where he's assigned to serve his sentence. She also said that while he has a medical condition that may make him more susceptible to the virus, it "appears to be — as it has been for some time — medically controlled."

And unlike other criminal defendants who had been granted longer extensions of their surrender dates, Stone had run afoul of the judicial system in myriad ways, the judge also reasoned. He was convicted of threatening a key witness and stoking violent sentiment toward jurors and the judge, she said.

But as of Thursday, the Bureau of Prisons' website says that 20 inmates and one staffer at the facility have been tested positive, and one staff member had recovered from the virus. 

In its brief backing Judge Jackson, the DOJ rejected Stone's assertion that his medical conditions, age and the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak at the prison are "exceptional reasons why detention would not be appropriate." Along with other conditions prescribed in the Bail Reform Act, Stone must also demonstrate that the late April appeal of his conviction "raises a substantial question of law or fact" and is likely to result in reversal or a new-trial order, according to the government's brief. Instead, he "tries to leapfrog the applicable criteria," it said.

In a lengthy and scathing statement to Law360 late Thursday, Stone's attorney David I. Schoen scolded the DOJ's new stance, calling it "an absolute disgrace. It is disingenuous and in places downright dishonest."

In recent weeks, Stone has been pleading to Trump to grant a pardon, and the president has repeatedly suggested he might do so.

In an interview Thursday with Jim Norton and Sam Roberts on SiriusXM, Stone said he has "grave concerns" over going to prison because people in jail have been infected with COVID-19, and that he considers his sentence "the death penalty." Stone also told the hosts he hasn't spoken to Trump in two years and that he's "optimistic" the president will either pardon him or commute his sentence.

The government is represented by David B. Goodhand and Elizabeth Trosman of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Stone is represented by the Law Office of Seth Ginsberg and the Law Office of David I. Schoen.

The appeal is U.S. v. Stone, case number 20-3033, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The district court case is U.S. v. Stone, case number 1:19-cr-00018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

--Additional reporting by Mike LaSusa. Editing by Brian Baresch.

Update: This story has been updated with a statement from Stone's attorney and COVID-19 statistics from the Bureau of Prisons.

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