Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesBY: KATE PASTOR, ABC NEWS

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump further fueled speculation Saturday morning that he plans to pardon longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone.

After a judge on Friday gave Stone a surrender date of July 14 -- he had sought to report to the Georgia prison on Sept. 3 -- Trump tweeted a story about a petition for the president to pardon Stone as he faces a sentence of 40 months for lying to Congress and misleading investigators on several key elements of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

On Saturday, Trump retweeted a message saying "IT’S TIME TO #PardonRogerStone"

This is not the first time a Trump tweet has raised the prospect of a Stone pardon. Earlier this month, on June 4, the president tweeted that "Roger was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!"

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