Hours after four federal prosecutors handling the Roger Stone case withdrew in response to the Department of Justice overruling their recommendation on Stone’s prison sentence, Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued that the Trump confidant and ally “needs a pardon,” sending a clear signal to Fox News’ most loyal viewer.

Prosecutors on Monday asked the judge to sentence Stone to seven to nine years in prison following his conviction of lying to Congress, obstruction, and witness tampering. President Donald Trump lashed back with several late-night tweets calling the sentence “horrible and very unfair,” and hours later, the Department of Justice announced it would seek a shorter sentence, raising concerns about political interference. (Both the the department and Trump have denied he was involved.)

Reacting to Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren blasting the DOJ’s “sweetheart deal” to Stone on Tuesday night, Carlson said during his primetime broadcast that the Massachusetts senator was “failing and bitter in New Hampshire” over her middling results.

“And like so many on the left, howling for Roger Stone to die in prison,” Carlson, a longtime champion of Stone’s, continued. “A 67-year-old man with no criminal record caught up in the Russia hoax. Farce! Caught up in an investigation that proved to be fruitless.”

Noting that Stone is looking at nine years in prison, Carlson then claimed that the average rapist serves four years in jail, while armed robbers spend approximately three years behind bars.

“The average thug who violently assaults somebody—less than a year and a half,” the Fox star added. “But the left, CNN as well, demand that Roger Stone die in prison. This man needs a pardon.”

This isn’t the first time the conservative host has called on the president to step in and clear his friend. Last March, while Stone was still awaiting trial, Carlson wondered aloud: “Stone is still looking at life in prison. Where is Roger Stone’s pardon? His pardon from the president. Let’s hope it comes very soon.”