Tag: Stone gag order

Roger Stone’s lawyers tell judge: We didn’t try to hide anything

Lawyers for longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone told a federal judge Monday that they were not trying to hide anything from the court at a gag-order-related hearing last month where they failed to mention that Stone was in the midst of releasing a book trashing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

In a submission ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, Stone attorney Bruce Rogow said it did not occur to him until after the Feb. 21 hearing that the newly crafted introduction for a paperback edition of Stone’s book on the 2016 campaign might land him in hot water.

“Reading for the first time the New Introduction, while waiting for a plane back to Fort Lauderdale, brought the issue home and led to the Motion to Clarify,” wrote Rogow and other lawyers defending Stone against false-statement and witness-tampering charge.

View the complete March 11 article by Josh Gerstein on the Politico website here.

‘Fierce’ judge in Mueller cases tested by Stone

Federal district court Judge Amy Berman Jackson couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, admitted in open court that a volunteer had given him two or three photos of the judge to choose from, and for an Instagram post he picked the one that appeared to show the crosshairs of a rifle scope behind Jackson’s head.

“You had a choice?” Jackson asked, incredulous after Stone’s admission.

View the complete March 6 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

Judge warns Roger Stone of ‘costs and consequences’ for his new book release amid gag order

Roger Stone as he left federal court in Washington on Feb. 1. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

Attorneys for Roger Stone withheld and misrepresented plans for his new book criticizing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III in violation of a gag order in his case, a federal judge found Tuesday, warning that any “costs or consequences” that result are solely his responsibility.

The new order by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington does not spell out consequences but bodes ill for the longtime friend of President Trump and Republican operative, who asked the court for leeway late Friday regarding the “imminent release” of a new version of his book about Trump’s 2016 campaign, retitled “The Myth of Russian Collusion.”

Jackson found that, in fact, Stone deliberately waited until after publication to disclose plans that had been underway for weeks, suggesting his defense was using her docket to gin up publicity for the book.

View the complete March 5 article by Spencer S. Hsu on The Washington Post website here.

Judge orders Roger Stone to explain imminent release of book that may violate gag order

Roger Stone, a former campaign adviser for President Trump, leaves federal court in Washington on Feb. 1. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

Republican operative and longtime Trump friend Roger Stone faced fresh legal trouble Friday after a federal judge ordered his attorneys to explain why they failed to tell her before now about the imminent publication of a book that could violate his gag order by potentially criticizing the judge or prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

The order by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District of Columbia late Friday came barely eight days after Jackson barred Stone from speaking publicly about his case, prompted by a photo posted on Stone’s Instagram account that placed a crosshairs next to a photo of Jackson’s head.

Stone apologized for abusing the court’s trust, asking for a second chance. Jackson said in imposing the gag order Feb. 21 that it would be “foolhardy” to wait for him to transgress again, that she had “serious doubts whether you’ve learned any lesson at all,” and warned she would order him to jail for future violations.

View the complete March 3 article by Spencer S. Hsu and Manuel Roig-Franzia on The Washington Post website here.

Judge imposes full gag order on Roger Stone

During a heated hearing on Thursday, the federal judge presiding over Roger Stone’s criminal case banned the longtime Trump associate from saying anything publicly about his case.

The ruling, harsher than the limited gag order U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued last week, comes after Stone posted an inflammatory photo of the judge on his Instagram account over the weekend.

Before Jackson ruled from the bench, Stone took the stand to beg for forgiveness.

View the complete February article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.