Roger Stone's Apology for Crosshairs Post Not Enough for Judge
Instagram post
A federal judge in Washington ordered Roger Stone to come to court Thursday to explain why he should remain free on bond after the longtime Trump ally posted a photo on social media showing the judge next to crosshairs.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is considering revoking bond and changing media restrictions already imposed against Stone in light of the Instagram picture.
Jackson's gag order prohibited Stone and all other parties in his case from making public comments outside the federal courthouse. She also barred lawyers for the parties and witnesses from speaking with news media.
That order could be in jeopardy after Stone posted the picture on his Instagram account last weekend showing an image of Jackson next to crosshairs. The post was taken down after a short time, but not before it caught significant social media attention.
Stone’s lawyers apologized to Jackson for the “improper photograph and comment” in a “notice of apology” filed with the court Monday.
“I had no intention of disrespecting the Court and humbly apologize to the Court for the transgression,” Stone said in that filing.
Stone is fighting charges that he lied to congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, obstructed justice and tampered with a witness.
Those charges were brought by prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller III and the U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu in the District of Columbia. Their offices are jointly handling Stone’s case.
Stone was arrested by the FBI in a predawn raid Jan. 25 at his home in Fort Lauderdale and was released later that day was on a $250,000 signature bond that did not require him to post any cash.
The indictment tied Stone to the alleged Russian hack and Wikileaks posts of Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee emails before the 2016 presidential election.
Stone denied all charges against him, claiming the case was politically motivated and categorically rejecting claims he had ties to the Russian government during the campaign.
He is represented by Fort Lauderdale attorneys Bruce Rogow, Grant Smith of StrategySmith and Robert Buschel of Buschel & Gibbons. He also has a Washington attorney, L. Peter Farkas of Halloran Farkas + Kittila.
Stone's time in politics stretches back to President Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign when he specialized in "dirty tricks" targeting opposition groups.
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