Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Stone to come to court on Thursday for a hearing to address the situation. She also raised the question that his social media posting could jeopardize his bail, which allows him to travel with some restrictions.
Stone apologized to the court Monday night for the image and modified it on his social media account, with a caption that still criticized Jackson, saying his case was a "show trial." He later took that image down, too.
Stone told CNN a "volunteer" who works on his social media posted the initial Instagram post and the photo was "random," and not "meant anyway to threaten the judge." Stone says he "ordered it taken down because it was open to misinterpretation."
Last week, Jackson ordered him not to speak publicly in and around the courthouse. His attorneys and others involved in his criminal proceeding face a broader mandate: they cannot comment on the case in a way that could bias a jury, leaving them virtually unable to argue on Stone's behalf outside of the court filings and hearings.
Stone was indicted in January by a grand jury on charges brought forward by special counsel Robert Mueller, who alleges that Stone sought stolen emails from WikiLeaks that could have damaged Trump's opponents in the 2016 presidential election while in coordination with senior Trump campaign officials.
Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump associates were involved.
Stone was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on seven counts: one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements and one count of witness tampering.
No comments:
Post a Comment