Washington, February 13 (RHC)-- In a highly unusual move, four U.S. federal prosecutors overseeing the criminal case against Trump’s longtime friend and former campaign adviser Roger Stone have withdrawn from the case — and one resigned from his job entirely — after senior Justice Department officials demanded Stone receive a shorter prison sentence. 

A senior Justice Department official told reporters that the four prosecutors all appeared to withdraw in protest of the intervention by top Justice Department officials, which came after President Donald Trump went on a late-night Twitter rampage, attacking federal prosecutors and saying the initial recommended sentence of between seven and nine years was a “miscarriage of justice,” even though this sentence range was based on federal sentencing guidelines. 

Only hours after Trump’s tweets, a senior Justice Department official said the department was “shocked” by the sentence recommendations and would review it.  

Last November, Stone was convicted of seven counts, including lying to Congress and tampering with a witness to prevent investigators from obtaining evidence on how the 2016 Trump campaign tried to benefit from stolen Democratic Party emails.  Stone could have faced up to 50 years in prison.