Judge orders a hearing for Stone after Instagram post
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has demanded Roger Stone explain why the conditions of his release and freedom to talk about the charges against him should not be changed days after he posted a photograph of that judge to his Instagram page that included her name, a close-up of her face and what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun sight near her head.
Stone deleted the initial picture soon afterward, then reposted it without the crosshairs before deleting that second post as well.
He later said he did not mean to threaten the judge overseeing his criminal case. In a letter to Judge Amy Berman Jackson, he apologized and called the picture “improper.”
But Jackson has scheduled a hearing for Thursday afternoon, saying Stone must “show cause … as to why the media contact order entered in this case and/or his conditions of release should not be modified or revoked.”
Jackson is presiding over Stone’s criminal trial, in which he has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying about his efforts to gather information about hacked 2016 Democratic Party emails that were published by WikiLeaks.
In a text message to The Washington Post on Monday, Stone said the photograph of Jackson had been posted by a “volunteer” who helps him with his social media accounts.
“The photo has been misinterpreted and in no way did I mean to threaten the judge or disrespect the court.” Stone wrote. “(It) is a random photo selected from the Internet and was posted at my direction. Because it was open to misinterpretation I have ordered it taken down.”
Stone also appeared on the Infowars show War Room, where he reiterated the post had been misinterpreted and blamed the media for doing so.
“The fake news continues to make me a favorite target. This latest tempest is a perfect example about it,” he said.
“I took it down because it was open to misinterpretation and there’s a thousand stories now from the usual suspects saying, Roger Stone posted a photo of Judge Jackson with a crosshairs on it,” he said. “That is false. That was not my intention, and I apologize if anyone got that impression. That was not the intent of my posting.”
He said he did not intend to threaten or disrespect the judge.
Jackson imposed the gag order Friday, telling Stone that he could not make statements to the media about his case near the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., but imposing no other restrictions on his ability to make public comments.
The judge put greater constraints on attorneys and potential witnesses, telling them not to make statements that could prejudice jurors.
In the text accompanying the first post, Stone referred to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who brought the case against him. “Through legal trickery Deep State hit man Robert S. Mueller III has guaranteed that my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson,” Stone wrote, adding that Jackson is “an Obama appointed judge” and the “#fixisin.”
The U.S. Marshals Service, which provides security to federal judges, did not respond to a request for comment.
Stone also disputed that the original post included crosshairs.
The photograph does appear on at least one farright blog, emblazoned with the crosshairs-like logo.
However, in a Monday court filing, Stone’s lawyers formally apologized for the post.
Jackson is the same judge who ruled last week that Manafort — Stone’s longtime friend and former business partner — lied to Mueller’s prosecutors.