WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday backed away from its earlier recommendation of sentencing President Donald Trump’s adviser Roger Stone to between 7 and 9 years in prison, and declined to offer the court an alternative sentencing range.

In a court filing, the department said it would defer to the court on an appropriate sentence, but said the original recommendation by the prosecutors who tried the case “could be considered excessive and unwarranted.”