Former Trump adviser Roger Stone on Monday was forced to apologize to the judge presiding over his criminal case after sharing a picture of her on social media.
The photograph of Judge Amy Berman Jackson was posted on Instagram and included what some identified as a crosshair in the background, immediately prompting a backlash.
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He then deleted the post but later posted the same photograph again – just without the crosshair – and slammed his trial in a caption.
“Through legal trickery Deep State hitman Robert Mueller has guaranteed that my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointed Judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges against Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction for any crime,” Stone’s post was captioned.
Stone and his lawyers filed a notice on Monday night, admitting that the sharing of the picture wasn’t appropriate and that he apologizes.
“Please inform the Court that the photograph and comment today was improper and should not have been posted. I had no intention of disrespecting the Court and humbly apologize to the Court for the transgression,” Stone said.
“Please inform the Court that the photograph and comment today was improper and should not have been posted. I had no intention of disrespecting the Court and humbly apologize to the Court for the transgression.”
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The former Trump advisor went on to explain himself further on Instagram, saying the post has been “misinterpreted” and denied he tried to threaten the judge.
“A photo of Judge Jackson posted on my Instagram has been misinterpreted. This was a random photo taken from the Internet. Any inference that this was meant to somehow threaten the Judge or disrespect court is categorically false,” he wrote.
“What some say are cross hairs are in fact the logo of the organization that originally posted it something called corruption central. They use the logo in many photos,” he added.
Stone has been the target of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
He has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering as part of Mueller’s probe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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