FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Roger Stone apologized Monday to a federal judge presiding over his upcoming trial on charges of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness intimidation, after he posted an image of her that included what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun sight.
"Roger J. Stone hereby apologizes to the court for the improper photograph and comment posted on Instagram today. Mr. Stone recognizes the impropriety and had it removed," Stone's lawyers wrote to the court.
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Last week, Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued a gag order banning Stone from commenting on the case near the courthouse in Washington, D.C., “to maintain the dignity and seriousness of the courthouse and these proceedings.”
On Monday, Stone posted an image of Berman on Instagram to promote to his legal defense fund.
"Through legal trickery Deep State hit man Robert Mueller has guaranteed that my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson , an Obama appointed Judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges again Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction for any crime," Stone wrote in the post, which was later removed.
“The photo has been misinterpreted and in no way did I mean to threaten the judge or disrespect the court.” Stone wrote in text message to a Washington Post reporter. “[It] is a random photo selected from the Internet and was posted at my direction. Because it was open to misinterpretation I have ordered it taken down.”
Stone, a Fort Lauderdale resident and longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, faces seven federal charges, including five counts of making false statements, one count of obstructing an official proceeding and one count of witness tampering. The case is part of Mueller's special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The indictment against Stone alleges that the 66-year-old was the middle man between Trump's presidential campaign and Wikileaks, which had damaging information on Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Prosecutors said Stone lied about it to the House Intelligence Committee and told a witness to lie about it too.