These people always think they are above the law.
Judge orders Roger Stone to explain imminent release of book that may violate gag order
By Spencer S. Hsu and
Manuel Roig-Franzia March 1 at 10:28 PM
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.
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In the new controversy, Jackson, in a brief order posted on the court’s electronic docket after office hours Friday, said she was allowing Stone’s defense team to file under seal a motion apparently to clarify the court’s gag order and an unspecified accompanying exhibit, and ordered a court clerk to make public Stone’s request.
But Jackson also ordered Stone’s attorneys to explain by Monday why they waited until now in making that request to disclose the “imminent general rel[e]ase” of a book, which Jackson said “was known to the defendant.”
Jackson said Stone’s attorneys could have told the court about the unidentified book either in a February court filing or the Feb. 21 hearing on whether she should impose a gag order to limit prejudicial pretrial publicity and ensure Stone’s right to a fair trial.
That was particularly so, she noted, because prosecutors specified their request for an order providing that Stone “should not be talking about this Court. He should not be talking about the special prosecutor,” Jackson said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis also argued in the hearing that an order should say, “This Court should not be criticized by Mr. Stone. The government should not be impugned by Mr. Stone. The integrity of this case should not be impugned by Mr. Stone,” Jackson noted.
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/judge-orders-roger-stone-to-explain-imminent-release-of-book-that-may-violate-gag-order/2019/03/01/c5302c0e-3c80-11e9-aaae-69364b2ed137_story.html?utm_term=.30ab5333d80e&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
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