Roger Stone, a long-time political adviser to Donald Trump, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison despite the US president's public calls for leniency.
Stone had previously been found guilty of on all seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
The sentence amounts to more than three years in prison, which is sizable, though less than the seven to nine years that US prosecutors had originally suggested.
The Republican operative's involvement in politics stretches from the Watergate scandal era of the early 1970s to Mr Trump’s campaign four years ago.
He arrived at the courthouse court on Thursday wearing black sunglasses and a dark fedora, surrounded by family, friends and lawyers.
Some supporters held up a banner that said "#PardonRogerStone." One critical on-looker shouted "Traitor!"
Amy Berman Jackson, the US district judge, had faced calls from Trump allies and the US president himself to show leniency.
Mr Trump tweeted about "fairness" hours before the decision as he compared the Stone case with how his critics have been handled.
Overnight the president tweeted a clip by Fox News host Tucker Carlson calling the case a “shocking insult to the American tradition of equal justice."
In November a jury of nine women and three men convicted Stone, 67, on all seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
The charges stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that detailed Russian meddling in the 2016 election to boost Mr Trump’s candidacy. Stone was one of several Trump associates charged in Mr Mueller’s inquiry.
Mr Trump, who on Tuesday granted clemency to prominent convicted white-collar criminals including financier Michael Milken and former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, has sidestepped questions about whether he will pardon Stone. “We’re going to see what happens,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Stone lied to the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee about his attempts to contact WikiLeaks, the website that released damaging emails about Mr Trump’s Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton that US intelligence officials have concluded were stolen by Russian hackers.
Mr Trump, emboldened after his Senate acquittal in his impeachment trial, has attacked the prosecutors, jurors and judge in the case.
After prosecutors last week recommended that the judge sentence Stone to serve seven to nine years in prison, Mr Trump blasted them as “corrupt” and railed against this “miscarriage of justice.”
William Barr, the US attorney general then intervened and the Justice Department withdrew the sentencing recommendation, prompting the four prosecutors to resign from the case.
Congressional Democrats have accused Trump and Barr of politicising the U.S. criminal justice system and threatening the rule of law.
More to follow.
