Attorney General William Barr’s handpicked top prosecutor presiding over the Roger Stone case reportedly caved to prosecutors seeking a steep prison sentence for the longtime friend of President Trump.

Timothy Shea, the recently installed interim U.S. attorney in D.C., informed Justice Department leadership that he believed the initial seven-to-nine-year sentencing recommendation for Stone was too excessive, DOJ sources told the Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberley Strassel.