Judge issues gag order for people involved in trial of former Trump adviser Roger Stone

By Andy Sullivan

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Friday limited the ability of people involved in the criminal trial of Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, from speaking publicly about the case in a way that may influence the outcome.

The order by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson prohibits lawyers involved in the case from speaking with news media, and prohibits other participants, like Stone himself, from making statements that may affect the case when they are near the courthouse.

It does not stop Stone from talking about his case when he is not near the courthouse. However, Jackson warned Stone that he may not help his prospects by speaking out.

“One factor that will be considered in the evaluation of any future request for relief based on pretrial publicity will be the extent to which the publicity was engendered by the defendant himself,” Jackson wrote.

Stone faces charges of making false statements to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering in Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s probe into Russia‘s role in the 2016 U.S. election and whether Trump‘s campaign conspired with Moscow.

The 66-year-old self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” has made several media appearances since charges were announced last month, and in a Reuters interview he has downplayed the charges as “process crimes” that did not involve intentional lies.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Susan Thomas and Leslie Adler)