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Roger Stone says he is ‘heartfully sorry’ as he takes stand to explain Instagram post that showed judge in his case

Rachel Weiner

Local reporter covering federal court in Alexandria, Va. and local court in Arlington and Alexandria.

February 21 at 4:07 PM

A federal judge ordered that longtime Republican operative and Trump confidant Roger Stone may not speak publicly about the investigation or case against him.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington said it would be “foolhardy” to wait for Stone to transgress again in the wake of an Instagram post that appeared to show her photo near crosshairs and suggested both she and the special counsel were biased.

“I’m not giving you another chance,” she said. “I have serious doubts whether you’ve learned any lesson at all.”

If he violates the order in any way, Jackson said, she would order him to jail.

She rejected his claim that the image was not meant to be threatening.

“Roger Stone knows full well the power of words and the power of symbols,” she said. “There’s nothing ambiguous about crosshairs.”

Stone can continue to raise funds for his defense and speak on other matters, the judge said.

Stone on Thursday took the stand to apologize for the post and ask that he be allowed to keep talking about his upcoming trial on charges brought by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

“I’m sorry that I abused your trust,” Stone told Jackson. “I’m heartfully sorry. . .I can only beseech you to give me a second chance.”

Stone, 66, said the “lapse of judgment was an outgrowth of the extreme stress of the situation.” He said facing criminal charges for the first time in his life has put him under severe emotional and financial strain.

Jackson was not moved. “Thank you, but the apology rings quite hollow,” she said. Based on his subsequent statements and actions, she said, “I don’t find any of the evolving and contradictory explanations credible.”

Both Jackson and prosecutor Jonathan Kravis grilled Stone on how he found the image and why he posted it. Stone gave inconsistent answers, saying first that it was posted by a volunteer and then that a volunteer sent him the image but he posted it himself. He said he can’t remember who gave him the picture or the names of everyone who has access to his phone.

“How hard is it to find an image without crosshairs?” Jackson asked Stone.

“I didn’t recognize it as a crosshairs — I didn’t even notice it until it was brought to my attention by a reporter,” Stone said. He said, as he has before, that he believes it was a “Celtic cross” or “occult symbol,” based on subsequent research.

“It was improper for me to criticize at all, I recognize that,” he said.

Asked for elaboration on the symbol, he replied, “I don’t know your honor; I’m not into the occult.”

Jackson also repeatedly asked Stone why, if he immediately regretted the posting, he went on to defend it in multiple media interviews.

“I felt the media was falsely saying that I was posing a danger which was not my intention, and this was not a crosshairs in my opinion,” Stone responded. “I had no malicious intention.”

Jackson also pressed Stone on why he apologized to her in a letter Monday if he did not mean the image to be threatening. Stone said the apology was drafted by his attorneys and signed by him during a doctor’s appointment, and that he had not read it carefully. But, he said, “I shouldn’t have posted any of it at all — it was a mistake.”

He said he chose the image from a few on his phone, randomly. He could not describe the other images, he told Jackson adding, “I erased all the images of your honor because I did not want to make the same mistake twice.”

Stone said he was “having trouble putting the food on the table and making rent” and needed to be able to make money as a commentator. According to Jackson, he had told pre-trial services his consulting income was $47,000 a month. She asked whether anyone was paying him to talk about his own criminal case, and he said no.

Stone is already under a limited gag imposed by Jackson after being accused of lying about his efforts in 2016 to gather information concerning hacked Democratic Party emails. A caption on the Instagram post of Jackson said Stone faced a “show trial” in her courtroom after his indictment stemming from the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Defense attorney Bruce Rogow called the post “a single specific instance” and argued that “Mr. Stone should have another opportunity to comply” with the judge’s order.

“Really what he’s asking for is a second chance,” Rogow said.

Kravis countered that both the post and Stone’s subsequent public comments “amounts to … a desire to manipulate media coverage… thereby threatening to taint the jury pool.” He pushed for Jackson to expand her gag order, saying Stone’s apology was “not credible.”

The initial picture was deleted from Stone’s account soon after it went online Monday and reposted again without the background image. Then that post, too, was deleted.

Stone has pleaded not guilty and is currently out on a $250,000 bond, allowed to travel between South Florida, Washington and New York City. He is also allowed to discuss the case publicly, just not in the immediate vicinity of the D.C. federal courthouse.

[Read the Roger Stone indictment here]

He was indicted in January on charges of obstructing justice, lying and witness tampering in what prosecutors said was an effort to hide repeated attempts to get information about plans to release the hacked emails. By itself, those actions may not constitute a crime, but authorities say Stone lied to Congress when asked about those efforts. U.S. officials say the hacked emails were taken by Russian intelligence officials and then shared with the global anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, whose founder, Julian Assange, made them public.

According to the indictment, Stone reached out to the group through an intermediary for information on the hacked emails at the direction of an unidentified senior Trump campaign official. He then allegedly lied to congressional staff investigators and encouraged another person to do the same, according to the court records.

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Roger Stone apologizes to judge for Instagram post: 'My wife is kicking me'

A federal judge has barred former Trump political adviser Roger Stone from speaking publicly about his ongoing prosecution on obstruction and false statement charges, following a hearing on Thursday in which Stone took the stand to insist he was "heartfully sorry" for the picture of the judge that appeared on his Instagram showing what appeared to be crosshairs in the background.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson tore into Stone, saying she simply didn't believe his explanation that an unnamed "volunteer" had selected the image that featured Jackson with crosshairs in the background.

"I have serious doubts about whether you learned anything at all," Jackson said. "From this moment on, the defendant may not speak publicly about this case -- period. No statements about the case on TV, radio, print reporters, or Internet. No posts on social media. [You] may not comment on the case through surrogates. You may send out emails about donating to the Roger Stone defense fund."

Jackson added an apparent threat to revoke Stone's bail and send him to jail: "This is not baseball. There will be no third chance. If you cannot abide by this, I will be forced to change your surroundings so you have no temptations."

Jackson had issued a limited gag order in Stone's case last week, preventing Stone from discussing the case near the courthouse. Stone was being questioned Thursday by Jackson and government lawyers as to why Jackson should not issue a full gag order, or modify or revoke Stone's bail -- potentially sending him to jail.

On Thursday, Stone denied using his phone to post the image himself, and insisted that an unnamed "volunteer" was responsible. The image was accompanied by a caption referring to "deep state hitman Robert Mueller" and called his prosecution a "show trial."

At one point during Thursday's hearing, Stone's lawyer, Bruce Rogow, called the post that featured Jackson's image "indefensible." Jackson replied: "I agree with you there."

The government is asking for additional restrictions on Stone's ability to talk about this case, while Stone's attorneys are requesting a more detailed court order that still allows Stone to be able to retain his ability to speak publicly about the case, citing his First Amendment rights. A final ruling from Jackson could come within minutes.

"I am under enormous pressure," Stone testified. "I now have TV people saying I will be raped if I go to jail. I'm having trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent." (Indeed, CNN senior political analyst David Gergen pondered on air Monday if Stone -- whom he called a "dandy" -- would be raped in prison.)

Stone deleted the Instagram photo, but later posted the same one again, this time without the apparent crosshairs, and slammed the trial in a caption.

Former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone walks out of the federal courthouse following a hearing, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Stone was arrested Friday in the special counsel's Russia investigation and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Associated Press)

In court, Stone said he "didn’t recognize it as a crosshair" and "didn't notice" a crosshair in the image. Stone claimed a "volunteer" has selected the image, although Stone acknowledged reviewing the image before it was posted.

"This was a screwup," Stone said. "I admit it."

Rather than crosshairs, Stone said, he thought the image contained a "Celtic occult" symbol. But, he added, he wasn't sure what the symbol meant, because "I’m not into the occult."

CNN ANALYST PONDERS: WILL STONE BE SUBJECT TO RAPE IN PRISON?

Jackson reminded Stone before his testimony that he would be subject to government cross-examination and was under oath. Asked whether he understood the picture could be construed as a threat, Stone replied: "I now recognize that. … I can’t rationalize my thinking because I wasn’t thinking, and that’s my fault."

"I am kicking myself for my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me," Stone later told Jackson. He added that "my consulting business has dried up" and said, "I've exhausted my savings."

Stone acknowledged that "the posting was my responsibility, and I regret it. This was an egregious stupid error, for which I apologize again to the court."

Stone and his lawyers filed a notice on Monday night, admitting that sharing the picture wasn't appropriate and that he was sorry.

Stone pleaded not guilty last month to obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and making false statements to Congress after being indicted last month as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, was also ordered not to travel anywhere other than Washington, the Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of Florida while the case is pending.

Stone is not permitted to have a passport in his possession or apply for any new passport. Stone was also ordered to return to court “whenever required.”

This is a developing story. Check back soon for more updates.

Fox News' Jake Gibson and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Roger Stone back in court after Instagram post

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Feb. 21, 2019, 3:54 PM GMT

By Jane C. Timm

A federal judge banned Roger Stone from speaking publicly about his case on Thursday, after hauling him back to court to answer for an Instagram post attacking her.

"Publicity cannot subside if it’s the defendant that’s fanning the flames," district Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Thursday.

Before her ruling, Jackson said the former Trump adviser "couldn't keep his story straight on the stand" when she allowed him the opportunity to explain his decision to post an image of her on social media with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun near her head.

The photo, posted to Stone's Instagram account earlier this week, was accompanied by a caption in which he suggested Jackson was politically biased, slammed Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and sought donations for his legal defense.

"I am hurtfully sorry for my own stupidity. I am kicking myself, not as much as my wife is kicking me," Stone told the court. He called the Instagram post "a momentary lapse of judgement" before saying that the photo was selected by someone who works for him, which he estimated was about "five or six people."

Stone said he was broke and struggling from the stress of the prosecution.

"I heard political commentators talking about the likelihood that I'll be raped in prison. It's been a stressful situation. I'm having a hard time putting food on the table and making rent," he said.

Stone later said his post wasn't meant to be threatening and deleted it.

Jackson, who is presiding over his prosecution, responded by scheduling a hearing Thursday to discuss "why the media contact order entered in this case and/or his conditions of release should not be modified or revoked in light of the posts on his Instagram account."

The judge's options included revoking his bail.

Stone's attorneys argued Thursday that Stone did not violate the limited gag order or the conditions of his release, and attempted to assure Jackson that Stone would not repeat his mistake.

"Sometimes a person learns a lesson, especially when a person is unrestrained in his speaking. It’s indefensible," Stone attorney Bruce Rogow said.

"I agree with you there," the judge said.

Government prosecutors sought a stricter gag order.

"I would submit that the defendant's testimony at this hearing was not credible," prosecutor Jonathan Kravis said. "That he committed a lapse in judgement is belied by the fact that even after he realized the post was a mistake, he continued to make statements to the media that amplified that message."

Stone, who was arrested by the FBI in January, faces seven charges arising from Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, including five counts of making false statements, one count of obstruction and one count of witness tampering. Stone has denied all charges.

After Stone gave a slew of media interviews, Jackson issued a limited gag order in the case last week that prevents Stone from speaking to the press about the case in the vicinity of the courthouse.

Neither that limited gag order, nor the threat of jail time, discouraged Stone's penchant for social media.

On his way to court Thursday morning, he was on Instagram again, posting a photo of him posing with merchandise he's selling in support of his legal defense.