Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced

In an interview with Fox News this week, he characterized himself as collateral damage in the quest to target Mr. Trump. “He is aware that the people trying to destroy Michael Flynn, now trying to destroy me, are the people trying to destroy him,” Mr. Stone said.

In an appearance on Fox last month, Mr. Stone even suggested that he wanted to help Mr. Trump win in November, saying his biggest fear of going to prison other than his health was “that I may not be free to do everything within my power to re-elect this president.”

While it was not clear when the two last spoke before the decision, Mr. Trump called Mr. Stone on Friday to deliver the news of his clemency personally, according to an official briefed on the conversation.

The president has used his power to issue pardons or commutations to a variety of political allies, supporters or people with connections to his own circle, like the former New York police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik, the financier Michael R. Milken and former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois.

But Mr. Stone is the first figure directly connected to the president’s campaign to benefit from his clemency power. While Mr. Trump has publicly dangled pardons for associates targeted by investigators, that was a line he had been wary of crossing until now amid warnings from advisers concerned about the possible political damage.

The debate over clemency for Mr. Stone has raged within the White House for months. Among those who advocated on behalf of it from outside the building were Tucker Carlson, the influential Fox News anchor, and Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Within the White House, Mr. Stone had few allies. Many Trump aides who knew him from the campaign did not like him, were envious of his long relationship with Mr. Trump or thought clemency would be bad politics.