WASHINGTON – A federal judge issued a limited gag order in the government’s case against Roger Stone, the longtime Trump confidant indicted in the special counsel’s probe last month.
The order, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, prohibits Stone from making statements to the media at the Washington, D.C. courthouse where his case will be handled, though the longtime GOP operative will largely be allowed to speak publicly about his case.
Lawyers and witnesses in the case face a more stringent gag order, Jackson ruled.
“Counsel for the parties and the witnesses must refrain from making statements to the media or in public settings that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case,” reads Jackson’s four-page ruling.
Jackson said that the gag order against Stone could be tightened in the future.
Stone has argued that a gag order against him would limit his ability to make a living. Stone is a contributor to InfoWars and men’s fashion editor for The Daily Caller. He also works as a public relations consultant in the political sphere.
Stone was indicted on Jan. 25 on five counts of making false statements to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstructing a government proceeding.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has investigated Stone’s possible links to WikiLeaks and what the GOP operative knew about the group’s plans to release emails stolen from Democrats.
Stone has not been indicted for conspiring with WikiLeaks or Russia, and he is not accused of lying to Congress when he denied having contacts with either entity.
Jackson’s order would appear to limit what two of Stone’s former associates, Jerome Corsi and Randy Credico, can say in the press. Stone’s indictment referred to Corsi and Credico as “Person 1” and “Person 2,” respectively.
Both Corsi and Credico have been heavily critical of Stone. Corsi filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Stone last week. He also submitted a court filing in the special counsel’s case supporting a gag order against Stone.
Corsi and Stone worked together during the 2016 campaign in an effort to help elect Donald Trump. But Corsi and Stone have had a falling out in recent month over several claims that Corsi has made in TV interviews.
Corsi, who was offered a plea deal in the Mueller probe, has claimed that he told Stone in August 2016 that WikiLeaks had possession of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails. Corsi has also said he told Mueller’s grand jury that Stone asked him to craft a cover story to explain an Aug. 21, 2016 tweet from Stone claiming “it will soon [be] the Podesta’s time in the barrel.”
Corsi has also repeatedly claimed that Stone asked him to contact WikiLeaks on Oct. 7, 2016, to demand the release of the Podesta emails. Corsi says that Stone wanted to get ahead of the release of an “Access Hollywood” tape that showed Trump speaking crudely about women.
Stone has vehemently denied all of Corsi’s claims.
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