Roger Stone judge condemns ‘harassment’ of jurors as Trump launches fresh attack on Twitter

Convicted associate of president is requesting a retrial

Donald Trump has tweeted out new allegations of bias against the judge and jury in the Roger Stone trial – just as the judge complained that jurors were being intimidated and harassed.

Referring to the accusations against the jury forewoman that have gained currency in conservative and pro-Trump circles, the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, said that she had seen no evidence of anything untoward.

She then said that in the current climate, making jurors’ identities public would put them at “serious risk of harm”, citing “a highly polarised political climate in which the president himself has shone a spotlight on the jury”.

The president on the same day tweeted his grievances against the court:

“There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case. Look at her background. She never revealed her hatred of ‘Trump’ and Stone. She was totally biased, as is the judge. Roger wasn’t even working on my campaign. Miscarriage of justice. Sad to watch!”

Retweeting an article from Fox News reporting on the judge’s supposed bias, Mr Trump then wrote: “A total miscarriage of justice!”

Mr Trump and many other right-wing figures, including commentators Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones, have for months complained that the jury – especially the forewoman – was biased against the president, and inappropriately considered outside information and opinions in its deliberations.

Mr Stone is now requesting a new trial on that basis.

In a highly unusual turn of events, Ms Berman Jackson has brought in nearly all members of the jury to answer questions about allegations of misconduct.

She allowed Mr Stone’s lawyers to choose two jurors to be questioned about the jury’s deliberations and foreperson selection process. She questioned them herself, and said she would rule on Mr Stone’s retrial request at a later date.

Mr Stone, a longtime right-wing political operative and former campaign adviser to Mr Trump, was found guilty on seven counts in November 2019, including lying to Congress and and witness tampering.

When the verdict was handed down, Mr Trump tweeted a long list of his political enemies who have not been charged with crimes, complaining of “a double standard like never seen before in the history of our country”.