US District Judge Amy Jackson on Thursday issued a broad gag order forbidding Republican operative Roger Stone to discuss his criminal case with anyone and reprimanded him over his posting of a photograph of the judge with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun on a wall behind her, although Stone said it was a Celtic symbol.
Jackson promised to throw him behind bars if he violates the court order in any way.
It would be “foolhardy” for her not to take any action over the Instagram post and that Stone would “pose a danger” to others in the case if the conditions of his release were not modified to include a gag order, she said.
Photo: AP
“Roger Stone fully understands the power of words and the power of symbols and there’s nothing ambiguous about crosshairs,” the judge said. “How hard was it to come up with a photo that didn’t have a crosshairs in the corner?”
Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to the US Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential campaign.
The charges stem from conversations Stone had during the campaign about WikiLeaks, which released material from Democratic groups, including former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign.
Stone is the sixth Trump aide or adviser charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He was arrested last month and has remained free on a US$250,000 personal recognizance bond.
Stone has maintained his innocence and has said the special counsel’s investigation is politically motivated.
During Thursday’s hearing in federal court in Washington, Stone took the witness stand to explain his Instagram post and apologize to the judge, repeatedly telling her he had made an egregious and inexcusable mistake.
“Thank you, but the apology rings quite hollow,” she said before instituting the gag order.
The judge said she doubted that Stone had learned his lesson and it was clear he needed “clear boundaries” about what he can and cannot say to prevent potential jurors from being prejudiced.
Jackson said that she was not reassured by “the defense suggestion that Mr Stone is all talk and no action, and this is all a big mistake.”
Jackson told Stone that he made “deliberate choices” to post the photo of her and created a risk.
“No, Mr Stone, I am not giving you another chance,” she said.
Stone said the image had been selected by a volunteer who was working for him.
He said he had several photos to choose from and posted the image himself to his profile.
“You had a choice?” the judge said.
Stone said he picked the photo “randomly,” a suggestion the judge dismissed.
“It was an egregious mistake. I obviously wish I could do it over again, but I cannot,” Stone said. “I recognize I let the court down, I let you down, I let myself down... It was a momentary lapse in judgement.”
He has said the photo was “misinterpreted,” the symbol was actually the Celtic cross, not crosshairs of a gun, and he was not trying to threaten the judge.
Last week, Jackson implemented a limited order that prevented Stone from discussing his case near the courthouse and generally prohibited his lawyers, prosecutors and witnesses from making public comments that could “pose a substantial likelihood” of prejudicing potential jurors.
That order stopped short of imposing a broad ban on public comments, as Thursday’s order does.
After Stone posted and then deleted the photo on Instagram, the judge ordered him to return to Washington and appear in court for Thursday’s hearing.
He and his lawyers filed a notice with the court that said they recognized the photo was “improper and should not have been posted.”
Stone’s lawyers argued, unsuccessfully, that placing any limits on his public comments would infringe on his constitutionally protected right to free speech.
His attorney, Bruce Rogow, said Stone’s post was inexcusable, but argued that his client should have another chance to comply with the judge’s initial gag order.
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