"These most recent posts are based on what we believe are factual misrepresentations in a defense filing about a subject that is not actually relevant to the trial, but that threatens to contaminate the jury pool,” US federal prosecutor Jonathan Kravis said in court Tuesday.
Kravis argued that Stone’s social media posts "clearly violate" US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s February gag order not to speak publicly about the case.
She agreed, telling Stone he must not "post or communicate on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook in any way on any subject."
Stone has repeatedly directed criticism at various people associated with the case against him, brought by then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller in January, including Judge Berman herself and more recently California Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democratic Russiagate crusader who heads the House Intelligence Committee.
Mueller indicted Stone in January on seven counts, centered on his 2017 testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Mueller alleged that Stone lied to Congress about his relationship with WikiLeaks and the circumstances surrounding its publication of hacked Democratic National Committee emails, and that Stone manipulated other witnesses who also appeared before Congress. Stone entered a not guilty plea at the time.
Stone tried to "build himself up, portray himself to the Trump campaign as somebody with insider information" about WikiLeaks, "and it was clearly untrue,” journalist and author Daniel Lazare told Sputnik at the time, noting that Stone has a reputation for bombastic comments. “He made a big mistake in going before the House Intelligence Committee and actually telling what appears to be a clear untruth about those efforts."
Stone’s trial is expected to begin in November, ABC noted. While Kravis stopped short of asking for pretrial confinement for Stone, Judge Berman has warned Stone repeatedly that there are "cost and consequences" of violating the gag order and that he has continued to “continued to test the limits” of the court’s patience.
