Roger Stone leaving court after Jan. 29 arraignment. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi

A federal judge in Washington may issue a gag order in the special counsel’s criminal case against Roger Stone,nine of wands wild unknown a longtime Trump confidant and ally, but said she wants prosecutors and his defense team to file briefs on the issue.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson reminded lawyers Friday that Stone’s case is “a criminal proceeding and not a public relations campaign.” Jackson said she will consider issuing a court order to bar Stone and his attorneys from making public statements that could prejudice the case.

The judge said any order wouldn’t bar all public commentary. Stone could still discuss “foreign relations, immigration or Tom Brady” as much as he wanted, she quipped. Prosecutors and Stone’s defense team have until Feb. 8 to file their briefs.

Jackson’s statements came during a half-hour status hearing that mostly dealt with housekeeping matters. The judge granted a joint motion to designate the case as complex and set a status hearing for March 14. Michael Marando, a prosecutor from the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, floated the possibility of an October trial.

Jackson hasn’t shied away from issuing gag orders in highly publicized matters. Her comments echoed statements she made in another special counsel's case when she gagged former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, one-time co-defendant Rick Gates and their attorneys in November 2017.

Jackson established early in that case that she had little patience for showboating after an attorney for Manafort, Kevin Downing, made public comments deriding the charges as “ridiculous.” In a hearing afterward, Jackson warned, “This is a criminal trial, and it’s not a public relations campaign.”

Jackson

issued

an order days later, barring the parties and attorneys involved from “making statements to the media or in public settings that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to the case.”

A gag order might pose a unique challenge for Stone, a garrulous figure who spent the week on a media blitz following his Jan. 25 arrest during an FBI raid at his Fort Lauderdale home. He’s proclaimed his innocence in interviews and in Instagram posts alike.

Stone floated the idea of appealing such an order in a meandering, 40-minute news conference arranged by right-wing conspiracy website InfoWars. He said he hoped Jackson takes into account that he made a living by “writing and speaking about politics.”

“Obviously, I would adhere to any ruling of the court if they should do that. On the other hand, I would also have the right … to appeal,” he said. “So let’s see what happens.”

Stone is fighting charges that he lied to congressional investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, obstructed justice and tampered with a witness. He

pleaded

not guilty to a seven-count indictment Tuesday.

Stone’s defense team includes Fort Lauderdale attorneys Grant Smith of StrategySmith, Robert Buschel of Buschel & Gibbons, Bruce Rogow and Tara Campion. Washington attorney L. Peter Farkas of Halloran Farkas + Kittila also joined Stone’s team.

Buschel identified himself as lead counsel Friday.

The special counsel’s office and prosecutors working under Jessie Liu, the U.S. attorney in Washington, are jointly handling Stone’s case.

Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, also oversaw the special counsel's case of former Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom associate Alex van der Zwaan, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators. She is also overseeing the case against Manafort associate W. Samuel Patten, who pleaded guilty in August to acting as an unregistered foreign lobbyist.

Read more:

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