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Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A federal judge delayed the sentencing hearing for political operative and former Trump adviser Roger Stone after his attorneys said they needed more time to sort out his financial information. He was originally set to be sentenced Feb. 6 for his November conviction on obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering. The judge rescheduled the hearing for Feb. 20.
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Stone faces up to 50 years in prison.
The lawyers told District Judge Amy Berman Jackson they couldn't meet a deadline for filing financial documents as part of Stone's sentencing advisory report.
"Despite the continual and diligent work of Mr. Stone, the process, however, is not yet complete," the lawyers said, adding that the records "are extensive and not all immediately available."
They sought a monthlong delay, but Jackson gave them an additional two weeks.
Financial records are used by to determine whether he can pay a fine associated with his sentencing and any costs of his imprisonment or monitoring devices. They're also used to determine whether he might deserve a harsher or more lenient sentence.
Stone was the sixth Trump staffer to be convicted on charges related to the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller, which sought to determine whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to interfere in the election.
The charges stem from testimony Stone had given to House intelligence committee, in which he lied about his WikiLeaks contacts during the 2016 campaign. He was a key part of the investigation, prosecutors argued, because he was an "access point" for WikiLeaks due to frequent claims he had insider information.
Prosecutors used some of Stone's private text messages as evidence, arguing they contradicted the details he gave House investigators.
