This shit show will go on forever

Roger Stone will go on trial starting Nov. 5 in Washington, the federal judge presiding over the high-profile case said Thursday.

  Politico

That is an awfully long time for Roger to adhere to a gag order.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson set out a calendar for a two-week trial that will pit the longtime Trump associate against special counsel Robert Mueller on charges Stone lied to Congress and obstructed lawmakers’ Russia investigations.

[...]

Stone was spared any punishment [related to possibly violating the gag order] after Jackson opened the proceedings saying she didn’t “intend to dwell” on the dispute, which centers on discrepancies over whether Stone mislead the court about plans to rerelease a recent book with a new introduction bashing Mueller’s investigation.

Lucky man.

Addressing the issue Thursday in court, Mueller prosecutor Jeannie Rhee told Jackson that there were contradictions between the claims made by Stone’s attorneys and the email exchanges they’d released involving the publisher.

Jackson responded that she hadn’t had time to study all the filings tied to the gag order flap but would take prosecutors' arguments “under advisement.”

The judge scoffed at some of the defense’s explanations for not alerting her to the book issue sooner, especially a claim that it would have been “awkward” to raise the issue during the Feb. 21 hearing.

“I’m not sure that’s a very strong response from an experienced litigator and officer of the court,” Jackson said, reminding the attorneys that they have a duty of candor to the court. “There’s no exception for ‘awkward.’”.

[...]

Deputy special counsel Andrew Weissmann — who will soon depart Mueller’s staff — was on hand for Stone’s hearing, but sat in one of the seats for support staff just inside the courtroom bar. The prosecution table included lawyers from both Mueller’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, which have joint responsibility for Stone’s case.

Turning to other matters tied to the Stone trial, Jackson set a series of key dates, including a schedule for Stone’s lawyers to file motions to dismiss the case outright. The first round of briefs from the defense is due April 12. Other notable events include another status hearing on April 30 and a pretrial conference on Sept. 17.

[...]

Stone, who’s known for his provocative public statements, kept relatively mum as he left the courthouse Thursday.

He said nothing about the proceeding, but did respond to a question about his feelings.

“I’m doing all right,” Stone said.

When a journalist observed that the session produced little of Stone’s trademark drama, he seemed to agree and sounded a bit apologetic.

“No fireworks,” he said.

He'll be so depressed by November.  If he makes it til then without putting on a show.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.