President Trump took vengeance after impeachment, went on to win the New Hampshire primary, and weighed in on the Roger Stone case, causing upheaval at the Department of Justice. Here’s what happened during the week of Feb. 14, 2020.
Two days after being acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial, Trump took retribution against two of the three government officials who testified against him.
On Feb. 7, Trump removed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified as a witness in the House impeachment investigation, as well as his twin brother Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman from the National Security Council. On the same day, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who gave testimony that Democrats considered to be the linchpin in the Trump-Ukraine scandal, was fired from his post.
Next up, Trump held a rally in New Hampshire the night before the primary election.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, he won the Republican primary held on Tuesday, gaining the state’s 22 delegates on almost 130,000 votes. Even though the nomination is basically a wrap for Trump, it’s certainly a boon for him to have such high turnout for a primary that doesn’t even matter.
Finally, Trump weighed in on the legal case against his old buddy Roger Stone.
After federal prosecutors on Monday recommended that Stone be sentenced for seven to nine years in prison for crimes including obstruction of justice and witness tampering, Trump tweeted the next morning, “This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice.”
This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice! https://t.co/rHPfYX6Vbv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2020
As a result of Trump’s tweet, the DOJ pushed back on the original sentencing request, causing all four prosecutors involved in Stone’s case to resign.
While Trump denied any involvement in the sentencing revision, his critics lambasted Trump and the DOJ for politicizing the justice system, claiming it as a move toward authoritarianism.
