Roger Stone walked into court this afternoon wearing one of his trademark Mafioso-style suits. Unfortunately, he walked out still wearing that suit rather than something in a stylish orange. But while Judge Amy Berman Jackson didn’t immediately send Stone to be Paul Manafort’s new neighbor, it was clear that she was Not Pleased at his behavior. Stone left the courtroom with a tighter gag order and his pinstripe suit practically singed by the judge’s anger. As live-tweeted by Huffington Post reporter Ryan Reilly and Courthouse News reporter Britain Eakin, the hearing was hilarious … for everyone except Stone.
Moments after entering the court, Stone’s attorney’s made a surprise announcement that he wanted to take the stand and testify in his own behalf. This is almost always stupid. In this case it was astoundingly stupid, because while Stone stumbled through multiple repetitions of an apology—during which he mentioned that he was worried about being raped in jail and was under a lot of pressure, and deployed the term “beseech” in begging for mercy— he then immediately undercut any appearance of sincerity through a series of staggeringly idiotic statements.
Asked about the crosshairs that appeared in an image on his Instagram feed next to an image of Judge Jackson, Stone claimed that he didn’t know it represented a threat. Instead he claimed that it was a “Celtic symbol,” which he knew because he “looked it up.” Asked about the meaning of the symbol, Stone then turned around and claimed ignorance, saying he “wasn’t into the occult.”
Under further questioning from the judge and a prosecutor from the special counsel’s office, Stone then backed away from even owning up to posting the image at all, claiming that his house was “like a headquarters” in which “five or six” volunteers put together his material. He also claimed that he “wasn’t the only one” who used his phone.
So Stone completely apologized … then claimed he didn’t do it. Which is never a combo that makes judges happy. Throughout the hearing, Judge Jackson’s anger was obviously increasing, a situation that wasn’t helped by Stone claiming that he was so broke he was “having trouble putting food on the table” and “paying the rent.” After which the judge read from financial documents showing that Stone is pulling in $47,000 a month.
It was bad enough that, coming in the door, Stone’s attorneys were stating that they thought there should be no change in Stone’s conditions, but by the time the judge announced she was taking a 15-minute break before offering up her decision, those same attorneys were already offering suggestions on how there might be exactly that. Coming back into the courtroom, Judge Jackson left no doubt that she did not believe Stone’s ridiculous apology was in any way sincere, and did not trust him an inch.
Jackson: No, Mr. Stone, I'm not giving you another chance. I have serious doubt whether you learned any lesson at all.
But while Jackson added conditions to Stone’s gag order to keep him from making public comments on either the investigation or the case, she left open that he could “proclaim his innocence.”
He can also still do fundraising. Which, for Roger Stone, will likely be considered a win.