President Trump's longtime confidante Roger Stone was arrested last month, quickly pleaded not guilty to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's charges, and was released on bail. But after sharing an inflammatory post about his case's judge, Amy Berman Jackson, on Monday, he landed back in court to explain just what happened — not that he explained anything at all. Here are 5 ways Stone skirted the issue on Thursday.
1. Used a hashtag. On his way to the courtroom, Stone, seemingly having learned nothing, shared an Instagram with a caption including #RogerStoneDidNothingWrong.
2. Blamed a volunteer. Stone says he has "five or six volunteers" who send him pictures and he decides what to post, per HuffPost. He couldn't name which volunteer sent it to him, or whether it was via text or email.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Called it a mistake. In fact, Stone said that a whole bunch of times.
4. Blamed "enormous pressure." "I'm having a hard time putting food on the table and making rent," Stone said, adding that "political commentators" are apparently saying he'll be "raped in prison," per NBC News.
5. Said he had no idea what crosshairs even are. The post featured Jackson's face next to a set of crosshairs, and Stone said Thursday he "researched" the symbol and found it was "Celtic." Jackson then asked if it was an "occult symbol," to which Stone said "I don't know, your honor, I'm not into the occult." That whole explanation, as you can see below, was easily debunked. Kathryn Krawczyk
-
Aug. 12 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include ICE youth, the self-serving EPA, Vladimir Putin demanding Alaska back, and Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein
-
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir: making the personal politicalTalking Point Former Scottish first minister attempts to set record straight in 'Frankly' but does she leave more questions than answers?
-
Trump-Putin: would land swap deal end Ukraine war?Today's Big Question Ukraine ready to make 'painful but acceptable' territorial concessions – but it still might not be enough for Vladimir Putin
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
