Longtime Donald Trump ally and right-wing political operative Roger Stone was ordered to appear with his lawyers in the courtroom of Judge Amy Berman Jackson today, to show cause as to why Stone shouldn’t lose his liberty (or at least be gagged) over his ill-advised Instagram threat post.
Judge Jackson ordered that Roger Stone is prohibited from making any public statements about his case, the investigation, or any participants in the investigation. “Period.”
He will be allowed to solicit funds for his legal defense, and say he’s innocent of the charges, but that’s all.
Judge ABJ makes it clear that this is his second chance. “This is not baseball. There will not be a third chance,” she says.
If Stone violates this gag order, the judge says she will revoke his bond and detain him pending trial.
NOW: The judge is prohibiting Roger Stone from making any public statements about his case, the investigation, or any participants in the investigation. "Period." He will be allowed to solicit funds for his legal defense, and say he's innocent of the charges, but that's it.
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Below: Tweets from the courtroom today, as Roger Stone testified.
If you don't live/work in the world of professional politics (or even just live inside the Beltway), you can't understand how much some of us are just ROTFLMFAO right now watching Roger Stone basically beg for his life after he threatened a federal judge on Instagram.
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) February 21, 2019
Jackson begins by entering the insta post on the record. She asks his lawyer Bruce Rogow if her media contact order should be modified. Rogow says no – they believe Stone should have another opportunity to comply. He offers to put Stone on the stand.
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Stone says he can't rationalize his thinking because he wasn't thinking. "And that's my own fault."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Stone says he was grateful for the initial leeway the judge gave him in her original media contact order. Jackson asks if he's being paid for his commentary about his case. Stone says he is not. He says he's having trouble making money right now.
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Stone: "I am kicking myself over my own stupidity. But not more than my wife is kicking me." Says he had a lapse in judgment, his Instagram post was an outgrowth of extreme stress of situation. He calls it a "stupid, egregious error."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Stone says the post was the "outgrowth of the extreme stress of the situation." He says he didn't choose the image, but takes responsibility for posting it.
Stone: "This was an egregious, stupid error for which I apologize to the court."
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Stone repeats he's under stress, says thoughts of being raped in prison if he's convicted are stressing him out. Says he let the court, his family and his attorneys down. "I can only say I"m sorry…forgive the trespass."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Stone says the crosshairs are a Celtic occultic symbol, he discovered, after having researched it. When ABJ asks what it means, Stone says, "I don't know your honor, I'm not into the occult."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
"I honestly didn't believe that these were crosshairs," Stone says, adding that he believes media misreported the symbol's meaning. But says he took it down immediately so it wouldn't be misinterpreted.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Stone says he relies on volunteers for certain things, he's not technologically proficient. Jackson asks if he knows how to search google for images and if his volunteers know how to do that. Stone says yes. Jackson asks, How hard is it find a photo that didn't have crosshairs?
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Jackson is grilling Stone on why he apologized if he didn't think the cross in the post was a crosshairs and was being misinterpreted — “It was improper for me to criticize at all, I recognize that,” he replies. "I didn't have a malicious intent."
— Rachel Weiner (@rachelweinerwp) February 21, 2019
ABJ wants to know how Stone can be deeply, sincerely sorry when he's been on a media spree talking about his Instagram post. Stone: "I have no rationalization or excuse … it was just an error."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Stone said he did not recognize the image at first and when he examined it later and researched it he said it was a Celtic symbol.
Jackson asks if it's an occult symbol.
Jackson: "What does it mean?"
Stone: "I don't know, your honor, I'm not into the occult."
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) February 21, 2019
Jackson asks how Stone being sorry squares with him continuing to speak publicly about the Instagram post issue after it was taken down. Stone says he was referring to what he saw a distortion of what he posted. He said he didn't have "malicious intent"
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Prosecutors up now to question Stone. But ABJ interjects almost immediately and wants to know if he saw the image before he posted it. Stone says yes. But he does not know who posted the image. ABJ is asking about his staff. Says he has no staff, just volunteers.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Stone is now being cross-examined by prosecutor Jonathan Kravis from the US attorney's office in DC. Kravis asks who posted the Insta post. Stone says he did, he just didn't select the image. Stone says he doesn't remember who provided him with the photo
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
So who else did Guccifer 2.0 talk to, then, if his phone is shared with half a dozen people? https://t.co/fygUc2S24B
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) February 21, 2019
Stone says it's conceivable the image was selected from his phone, which "is used by numerous people." Says he has five or six people (volunteers). ABJ is not happy.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Judge ABJ: "But you saw it and said, okay, I'm going to post this." Stone: "I didn't really recognize the implications… it was an error your honor."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Prosecutor Kravis: have you gone back and asked the five or six people who work for you who did it? Stone: "Nobody will admit to it."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Jackson is incredulous that Stone can't remember who he got the photo from. Stone says he may have gotten it via text or email, or it was saved on his phone by someone else. Jackson asks how many volunteers he has. Stone says 5 or 6
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Just do it and be legends https://t.co/mMNLmOUQ7t
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) February 21, 2019
Kravis asks if Stone may still have image on his phone. Stone says he deleted all of the images of Jackson — plural — from his phone so he didn't make the same mistake again. Jackson chimes in: "You had a choice?" Stone says yes, he chose the photo. "It was an error."
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
"The passive voice is not helpful," Judge Berman Jackson tells Stone as he answers questions about his volunteers and his social media operation.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 21, 2019
STONE: "I do not exclusively use my own phone, that's what I'm saying." Suggests someone else may have used his phone to find images of Judge Berman Jackson. Said none of his volunteers would own up to selecting the images Stone chose from.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 21, 2019
Guessing this will be the last time Roger's lawyers think it's a good idea to put him on the stand.
Still–he's managing to not recall and tell the truth so far, which is a big improvement for him. https://t.co/E4kXjvuOIN
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 21, 2019
STONE: "My house is like a headquarters, I have many volunteers."
JUDGE: I thought you said five?
STONE: Five is a lot.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 21, 2019
Stone cites one person who has his Instagram login information. Kravis asks again for the other names. Stone comes up with a third and fourth, but says "I'm sorry, I don't recall the others. It's a revolving situation."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Kravis: you can't remember the names of all the volunteers who work for you and had access to your phone four days ago? Stone: reiterates that he in fact cannot remember.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
— Timothy Johnson (@timothywjohnson) February 21, 2019
Stone is off the witness stand. His defense attorney called his action "indefensible." ABJ responds: "I agree with you there."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Roger Stone's image of Amy Berman Jackson apparently came from this site — https://t.co/riO1dZU8iC — which accuses her of working for "a secret rogue C.I.A."
It says it's phasing out its use of the "Celtic Cross" because of Stone situation. pic.twitter.com/Uz8Ob0flCA
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) February 21, 2019
In other words, whatever the intended purpose was for the crosshairs/Celtic cross, it wasn't enunciated on this site before Stone shared the photo.
And this is a conspiracy theory site about "evil people" who are "working for a secret rogue C.I.A."
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) February 21, 2019
Jackson asks the prosecutor what they want. Kravis says they want a "further restriction" on the "extrajudicial statements of the parties" — aka, they want a stronger gag order on what Stone can say out of court. Stone's lawyer says there should be no change.
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
"The defendant's testimony at this hearing was not credible," Kravis said. His apologies are belied by his testimony – even after he realized the Instagram post was a mistake he continued to make media statements echoing its message (Muellr = deep state hitman, the #fixisin)
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Gov. says the result of Stone's conduct was the wide dissemination of the image, which could be reasonably construed as threatening, and introduces a new threat of taint to the jury pool.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Jackson says how is she supposed to believe that media attention will subside when Stone gets his name in the paper every day — she notes he kept talking about the issue after he apologized. What would stop him, she asks. Rogow asks for time to suggest a narrower order.
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Stone's defense urges the court to craft an order that bars him from impugning the government, the court or the special counsel. Judge ABJ is taking a 15-minute break and will rule from the bench when she returns.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Note this is a preview of coming attractions: Mueller seemed to take great pains to know who was tweeting what when, I guess to ensure that Stone himself tweeted the "time in the barrel" tweet and the even more damning Aquinas tweet a week earlier. https://t.co/GPtdG8mkyy
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 21, 2019
Jackson: "What concerns me is the fact that he chose to use his public platform and chose to express himself in a manner that can incite others that feel less constrained."
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
ABJ: concerned that Stone used his platform to incite others who may feel less constrained, which poses a real risk that others with violent inclinations might be inflamed. Calls his actions "deliberate," and says he couldn't keep his story straight on the stand.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Judge ABJ says Stone's post had a "more sinister message." But notes that he "fully understands the power of words, and the power of symbols. And there's nothing ambiguous about crosshairs."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Judge says Stone has "decided to pursue a strategy of attacking others." Says Stone couldn’t keep story straight on the stand. Says Instagram post had a “more sinister message.” Roger Stone, fully understands the power of words and symbols, she says.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 21, 2019
Judge ABJ: "It's the lawyers, not Mr. Stone, who were appalled. So thank you for the apology, but it rings quite hollow."
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Jackson: "Thank you, but the apology rings quite hollow."
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) February 21, 2019
Judge ABJ says his release under the current set of conditions without modification does pose a danger to the others and/or the community.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Judge ABJ is modifying the gag order. "No Mr. Stone, I'm not giving you another chance. I have serious doubt whether you learned any lesson at all." He can no longer speak publicly about the investigation or case, but he can still fundraise and proclaim his innocence.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019
Judge ABJ makes it clear that this is his second chance. "This is not baseball. There will not be a third chance," she says. ABJ is clear that she will detain Stone ahead of trial if he violates the new gag order. And that's a wrap folks.
— Britain Eakin (@BritainEakin) February 21, 2019