Since his arrest and indictment last week, Roger Stone has been arguing that a gag order would impede his ability to make a living during his case. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Legal Roger Stone judge weighs gag order Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she would give each side a week to offer thoughts on a potential gag order.

A federal judge said Friday she’s considering slapping a gag order on Roger Stone, the longtime Donald Trump associate who has been on a media blitz since being charged a week ago with lying to Congress and obstructing lawmakers’ Russia investigation.

In the first hearing in Stone’s case — brought by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his sprawling probe into Russian election meddling — Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she would give each side a week to offer thoughts on a potential gag order.


Since his arrest and indictment last week, Stone has been vociferously arguing that such restriction would impede his ability to make a living during his case, which could easily drag on for months. Stone, who maintains a constant media presence, has previously hinted that he might fight such an order, but his attorneys didn't address the issue on Friday.

At the hearing, Jackson took a swipe at Stone’s prior arguments, noting that a gag order would not limit his ability to talk about “foreign relations, immigration or Tom Brady,” adding that she also didn’t want the GOP operative to treat his case “like a book tour.” It could even hinder his ability to get a fair trial, she cautioned.

Mueller’s grand jury indicted Stone last week, charging him with misleading House Intelligence Committee investigators about his attempts to communicate with WikiLeaks during the election. The seven-count indictment also accused Stone of intimidating another Russia probe witness, liberal radio host Randy Credico.

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Legal experts have long expected Jackson to gag Stone, who since his arrest and indictment last Friday has defended himself while criticizing Mueller in a series of TV interviews, dozens of Instagram posts and a Thursday press conference at a downtown Washington, D.C., hotel.

Jackson, a no-nonsense judge appointed by President Barack Obama, hasn’t responded well to anything in her courtroom that she perceives as showboating. She slapped a gag order on Paul Manafort, as well as Manafort’s attorneys, his then co-defendant Rick Gates, and the Mueller prosecutors within weeks of the initial October 2017 indictment.

In Stone’s case, Jackson said Friday that “there’s no question” the defendant has taken the opportunity since his arrest to publicly rebut his charges. She warned that what’s ahead “is a court proceeding and not a public relations campaign.”

Still, “I’ve not made up my mind,” Jackson said regarding a gag order. Stone’s and Mueller’s lawyers must address the issue in briefs due on Feb. 8.

Stone appears to be headed to trial sometime in the late summer or fall. Jackson on Friday said she had been thinking of a July or August trial, but Michael Marando, the lead assistant U.S. attorney working with Mueller’s office, said the government would prefer a trial “somewhere in the fall.”

Jackson replied she was open to that timing, which hinges on Stone’s attorneys first digesting the evidence that Mueller’s prosecutors share through discovery and any pre-trial motions.

In preparation for trial, Marando said Friday that the government planned “shortly” to turn over to Stone’s lawyers a plethora of evidence to back up their case, with a second tranche to follow soon after that.

Mueller’s office on Thursday had said the discovery would include “multiple hard drives containing several terabytes of information” from FBI case reports, search warrant applications, Apple iCloud accounts, email accounts and bank and financial records. They also promised to produce the contents from cell phones, computers and hard drives that “span several years.”

Jackson set the next hearing in Stone’s case for March 14.

Stone’s first appearance before Jackson took place before a packed courtroom and following a 10-minute delay because of a technical glitch that killed the live close-circuit video feed available to reporters watching from a media room one floor below.

Stone — dressed in a double-breasted, pinstripe gray suit, a large, poofed pocket square and his trademark pair of black, circular glasses — remained stoic throughout the hearing.

When Jackson asked Stone if he understood an agreement not to contact any witnesses or potential victims, he replied, “I do, your honor.”

As he left the courtroom, Stone said he felt “excellent.” But he raised his hands and said, “no comments,” when asked other questions.

If Stone’s case goes to trial, it’s likely to be a cacophonous affair. His comings and goings from both the South Florida and D.C. courthouses had previously been marked with loud protests and a large police presence. On Friday, amid a light snowfall, the scene was muted.

Anticipating the pandemonium following Stone’s arraignment earlier this week, court security set four bike racks to control the crowd. They were hardly needed. Aside from several camera crews and a handful of protesters — one loudly yelling, “We love Roger” — the building’s entrance was mostly empty.

As Stone departed without a coat, he raised his hands holding his fingers in the air in a Richard Nixon victory salute. He did not offer any other comments as he left the scene in a white Chevy suburban trailed by a black Mercedes sedan.