Mueller tells judge Roger Stone's Instagram post may violate gag order
Special counsel Robert Mueller today notified a federal judge that yet another Instagram post by Donald Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone may have violated Stone's gag order. If Judge Amy Berman Jackson agrees, Stone is going to jail.
Monday's filing by Mueller's office mentions a CNBC story on Sunday detailing the Instagram post by Stone, which contained an image of him under the words "Who framed Roger Stone."
New in Instagramland: Roger Stone, using Insta stories (which disappear after 24 hrs), suggests he's being framed. pic.twitter.com/GK0tUsH4jq
- Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) March 3, 2019
Stone is barred from commenting on Mueller's team of prosecutors under the gag order imposed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in late February.
If Stone, who is currently free on a $250,000 signature bond, is found by Jackson to have violated that order, she could have him jailed without bail pending his trial on charges of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing justice.
Stone deleted the "Who framed Roger Stone" image from a series of other rotating images on his Instagram story Sunday shortly after CNBC sent an email to his lawyer asking about it.
The other images suggested that people donate to Stone's legal defense fund, with one saying "I am committed to proving my innocence. But I need your help," and another saying, "I've always had Trump's back. Will you have mine?"
"We note for the Court that according to public reporting, on March 3, 2019, the defendant's Instagram account shared an image with the title 'who framed Roger Stone.' A copy of the image is submitted under seal as Exhibit C. 1," Mueller said in the court filing in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Jackson issued the gag order on Stone on February 21 after an ill-advised Instagram post of a photo showing judge Amy Berman Jackson's face next to gun crosshairs.
He has used this image & language *many times* online and on social media. But this is the first time I've seen it since the gag order.
- Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) March 3, 2019
Update: the "Who Framed Roger Stone" post has been deleted from Stone's Instagram story. (All of his other posts from today remain.)
- Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) March 3, 2019