Roger Stone’s lawyers have until Monday to explain to a judge why they didn’t tell her until this week about the looming publication of a book that could include discussion of the longtime Trump adviser's legal proceedings. | Alex Wong/Getty Images legal Judge demands answers from Roger Stone on book that could violate gag order

The judge in charge of Roger Stone's criminal trial on Friday demanded to know why the court wasn’t made aware of the “imminent general release” of a book that could include discussion of the longtime Trump adviser's legal proceedings, potentially violating a gag order.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson broadened an initial gag order against Stone on Feb. 21 after Stone’s Instagram page featured an image of the judge with what looked like a gun's crosshairs on it.


Under Jackson’s order, Stone is not allowed to make public comments of any kind about the charges he’s facing from special counsel Robert Mueller amid the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Stone was indicted Jan. 24 on charges of lying to Congress about his communications with WikiLeaks during the 2016 elections and witness tampering. He was arrested early the next morning at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and has pleaded not guilty.

Jackson gave Stone’s lawyers until Monday to explain why they didn’t tell her until this week about the looming publication, which she emphasized “was known to the defendant.”

In a post on Stone's Instagram account on Feb. 18, the conservative activist and self-described dirty trickster held a picture of his book, called “The Myth of Russian Collusion: The Inside Story of How Donald Trump REALLY Won,” that he said would be in stores March 1.

It was unclear if that was the book to which the judge was referring. Promotional text on the book in the Instagram post describes it as an updated version of Stone's book on the Trump campaign that was published in 2017.

