Roger Stone to appear in court over controversial Instagram post that could send him to jail while awaiting trial

Judge demands to know why she should not issue a full gag order and revoke Stone's bail as the trial proceeds

Roger Stone has been ordered back to court on Thursday to discuss a controversial Instagram post that attacked the judge presiding over his trial.

Earlier Monday, Stone posted a photo of US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson with what appeared to be crosshairs near her head.

Stone and his lawyers filed a notice on Monday night saying they recognised “the photograph and comment today was improper and should not have been posted.”

Stone later said that the picture had been “misinterpreted” and that any suggestion he intended to threaten the judge was “categorically false.”

The judge already issued an order limiting comments in the pending case prior to Stone’s Instagram post. On Tuesday, she said that Stone must now prove why his bail shouldn't be revoked and why she shouldn't institute a full gag order in the case.

Stone is charged with lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering related to discussions he had during the 2016 election about WikiLeaks. He has denied the charges.

“As I have said previously, there is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president, nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself,” Stone said after posting bail.

Stone's case is the latest in a series brought by special counsel Robert Mueller that focuses on cover-ups but lays out no underlying crime. It’s a familiar pattern in Washington, where scandals from Watergate to Iran-Contra and Whitewater have mushroomed into presidency-imperiling affairs due to efforts to conceal and mislead.

The Stone case is in some way reminiscent of the special counsel's prosecutions that have accused Michael Cohen of lying to Congress about his role in a Moscow real estate project; former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn of lying about his contacts with the Russia’s US ambassador; and ex-campaign aide George Papadopoulos of lying about his knowledge that Russia had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in the form of stolen emails.

In none of those cases did prosecutors say the things the defendants lied about were crimes themselves.

The Stone indictments also reflect an unflattering portrait of a presidential campaign eager to exploit stolen emails about a political opponent. They allege that Stone informed unidentified senior Trump campaign officials of what Stone was hearing about plans by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks regarding the hacked emails. It says a senior Trump campaign official “was directed” to contact Stone about additional releases and “what other damaging information” WikiLeaks had “regarding the Clinton campaign.”

Though those allegations don’t form the basis of any of the charges against Stone, their inclusion in the 24-page indictment could signal that Mr Mueller isn’t done with that prong of the investigation. He already has charged 12 Russian military intelligence officers in the hacking of Democratic email accounts, setting up the potential for prosecutions of any Americans who might be involved in that conspiracy.

Additional reporting by AP. More follows…