Somebody in the Trump Administration has a brain.

[malthaussen]

Commuting Mr Stone's sentence was clever. If he'd been pardoned, he could not invoke the Fifth in a related court case, because he couldn't be incriminating himself. Commutation does not carry that immunity, so he could refuse to answer future questions.

-- Mal

[soothsayer]

1. I read stone asked for it, but yeah, it's no accident

[KPN]

2. Probably Barr, the guy who said he was opposed to pardoning/commuting, but only did so to

(1) distance himself (after a wink and nod between he and his master), and

(2) avoid a potentially significant mutiny at DOJ.

Slug needs to slither back under that leaf from whence he came.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. However, he's already been convicted of the crimes

and commutation means the conviction stands; he just doesn't have to do prison time. Since double jeopardy has attached due to the conviction, meaning he can't be tried again for those crimes, I don't see why he'd be entitled to plead the Fifth in this instance either - at least with respect to the elements of the crimes for which he was convicted.

[VMA131Marine]

4. I believe Stone is still trying to get a new trial

that would overturn his conviction. If he succeeded before Trump/Barr are out of office I’m guessing they would pull a Flynn and just drop the case. Put Stone on the stand and you cannot compel testimony unless you gave, and he accepted, immunity because anything he testified to could be used against him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. In that case, yes. His request for a new trial was denied by the trial judge,

but he has appealed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/roger-stone-appeals-conviction-for-lying-to-congress/2020/04/30/30127062-810f-11ea-8de7-9fdff6d5d83e_story.html If the appeal is successful he'd get a new trial and it would start all over again. But this will take awhile, and if he wins the appeal, is retried and convicted again, it would probably be after Trump is out of office (we hope) and he wouldn't get either a sweet deal from the DoJ or a pardon or commutation from the new president. I am expecting that the appeal will be dropped at some point for that reason.

[House of Roberts]

5. Does that mean he would be subject to contempt charges

if he refused to answer, due to the fifth amendment not being applicable?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. I would think so. If you can't plead the fifth you're out of excuses.