J.P. Cooney, a Justice Department official now serving as Special Counsel Jack Smith's top deputy, cultivated a politically toxic environment, disseminated baseless conspiracy theories about Trump and his political appointees, and engaged in unprofessional conduct as he oversaw the team making sentencing recommendations, according to the same report.
The Cooney team larded up the Stone sentencing memo with every escalatory adjustment it could find, however disputable, to achieve a much harsher sentence and treat Stone differently than the Justice Department treats other defendants.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed with the second sentencing memo and ordered Stone to serve 40 months in prison, many years fewer than Cooney's team had aimed for.
In its report, the Justice Department IG said that Cooney's "Speculative comments in meetings with the trial team about the political motivations" of Trump officials "In connection with their handling of the Stone sentencing contributed to an atmosphere of mistrust" that "Unnecessarily further complicated an important decision in the case." It further determined that his baseless comments to the trial team formed a substantial basis for Zelinsky's explosive but wrong testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on June 24, 2020.
Cooney's track record at DOJ includes many other controversial political actions.
In April 2018, federal investigators issued a criminal referral for just some of the criminal leaks and lies he had engaged in while at the FBI. After sitting on a criminal referral for nearly two years, Cooney announced on Feb. 14, days after the Stone sentencing memo situation, that he had decided to let McCabe get away with the lies and the leaks.
His supervisors noted, "Cooney did not provide evidence that Stone had likely committed a crime - the standard they considered appropriate for looking at a political figure." Further, his investigative plans were "Treading on First Amendment-protected activities." Nevertheless, he continued pursuing various plans to target Trump affiliates, and the U.S. attorney's office began pursuing investigations along the lines of what Cooney had proposed, according to reporting.
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