Judge issues gag order against Trump confidante

WASHINGTON—A federal judge on Thursday issued a strict gag order forbidding Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, from discussing his criminal case. Stone pleaded not guilty Jan. 29 to seven charges of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing a congressional investigation into collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Last week, he posted an image on his Instagram account of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over his case, with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun sight over her head. He deleted the photo and apologized. At Thursday’s hearing, he said he thought the crosshairs image was actually a Celtic cross.

“Roger Stone fully understands the power of words and the power of symbols, and there’s nothing ambiguous about crosshairs,” Jackson said. The gag order states Stone can raise funds and insist he is innocent but cannot speak about the case or else he could go to jail. Jackson previously issued a limited gag order to prevent Stone from saying anything that would prejudice jurors in the case after he made multiple media appearances.