A federal judge issued a gag order in the Roger Stone case Friday, saying attorneys and witnesses for the former Trump campaign adviser and prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller may not speak publicly about Stone's prosecution for lying, witness tampering and obstruction.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson also put an end to Stone's courthouse press conferences. The judge ordered that "all interested participants in the matter ... must refrain, when they are entering or exiting the courthouse, or they are within the immediate vicinity of the courthouse, from making statements to the media or to the public that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case or are intended to influence any juror, potential juror, judge, witness or court officer or interfere with the administration of justice."
Stone's lawyer Grant Smith said: "As you can see in the order, Roger Stone is not in any way 'gagged' and the courthouse steps is a reasonable place for everyone to act with restraint and decorum."
Stone was arrested by FBI agents on Jan. 25 during a pre-dawn raid of his Florida home. He has been indicted on seven counts arising from Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, including five counts of making false statements, one count of obstruction and one count of witness tampering.
Prosecutors say Stone, a long-time Trump associate who worked for Trump's nascent campaign in 2015, provided the campaign with information about potential releases of hacked emails by WikiLeaks in 2016.
In a statement, Stone attorney Grant Smith said, "As you can see in the order, Roger Stone is not in any way 'gagged' and the courthouse steps is a reasonable place for everyone to act with restraint and decorum."
