USA v. STONE

Filing 28

RESPONSE by ROGER JASON STONE, JR to Court's order on "gag order" (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Portion of transcript Feb 1 status conference)(Buschel, Robert)

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Case 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ Document 28-1 Filed 02/08/19 Page 1 of 6 1 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 2 3 4 5 6 7 United States of America, ) Criminal Action ) No. 19-CR-018 Plaintiff, ) ) STATUS CONFERENCE vs. ) ) Washington, DC Roger Jason Stone, Jr., ) February 1, 2019 ) Time: 2:11 p.m. Defendant. ) ___________________________________________________________ 8 9 10 TRANSCRIPT OF STATUS CONFERENCE HELD BEFORE THE HONORABLE JUDGE AMY BERMAN JACKSON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE ____________________________________________________________ 11 A P P E A R A N C E S 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 For the Plaintiff: Michael John Marando Jonathan Ian Kravis U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 555 Fourth Street, NW Washington, DC 20530 (202) 252-7068 Email: Michael.marando@usdoj.gov Email: Jonathan.kravis3@usdoj.gov Jeannie Sclafani Rhee Aaron Simcha Jon Zelinsky U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Special Counsel's Office 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 (202) 616-0800 Email: Jsr@usdoj.gov Email: Asjz@usdoj.gov For the Defendant: Robert C. Buschel BUSCHEL & GIBBONS, P.A. One Financial Plaza 100 S.E. Third Avenue Suite 1300 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33394 (954) 530-5301 Email: Buschel@bglaw-pa.com Case 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ Document 28-1 Filed 02/08/19 Page 2 of 6 4 For the Defendant: Tara A. Campion LAW OFFICE OF BRUCE S. ROGOW, P.A. 100 NE 3rd Avenue Suite 1000 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (954) 767-8909 Email: Tcampion@rogowlaw.com 5 Also present: 2 1 2 3 6 FBI Case Agent Michelle Taylor FBI Case Agent Curtis Heide ____________________________________________________________ 7 Court Reporter: 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Janice E. Dickman, RMR, CRR Official Court Reporter United States Courthouse, Room 6523 333 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-354-3267 Case 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ Document 28-1 Filed 02/08/19 Page 3 of 6 1 Okay. You guys can be seated. 16 I have a couple more 2 issues I want to raise. 3 and is going to continue to receive a great deal of public 4 attention. 5 Local Criminal Rule 57.7(b) that talks about the conduct of 6 attorneys in criminal cases, and to comply with its provisions. 7 This is a case that's already received I expect the lawyers to familiarize themselves with One provision, 57.7(b)(1), provides that it's the 8 duty of the lawyer or law firm not to release or authorize the 9 release of information or opinion which a reasonable person 10 would expect to be disseminated by means of public 11 communication in connection with a pending or imminent criminal 12 litigation with which the lawyer or lawyer firm is associated, 13 if there's a reasonable likelihood that such dissemination will 14 interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the due 15 administration of justice. 16 obviously. 17 And this goes for both sides, Rule 57.7(c) contains specific guidance for what 18 should be done in widely publicized cases. In this case, I'm 19 sure it's no surprise to anyone, that I've noticed that there's 20 already been considerable publicity, fueled in large part by 21 extrajudicial statements of the defendant himself. 22 that the arrest and indictment were public and the defendant 23 may have justifiably felt the need to get his story out. 24 there's no question that at this point he certainly had that 25 opportunity. I recognize But Case 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ Document 28-1 Filed 02/08/19 Page 4 of 6 1 17 And since this is a criminal proceeding and not a 2 public relations campaign, and since it's incumbent upon me to 3 ensure the fairness and the dignity of these proceedings, and I 4 need to take into consideration the interest and the safety of 5 the government, the defendant, the witnesses, the jurors, the 6 court personnel, and the public, I believe that it behooves 7 counsel and the parties to do their talking in this courtroom 8 and in their pleadings and not on the courthouse steps or on 9 the talk show circuit. 10 And so to that end, I am considering -- I have not 11 yet decided -- that in light of my obligation to safeguard the 12 defendant's right to a fair trial, and also to ensure that we 13 will have the ability to seat a jury that has not been tainted 14 by pretrial publicity in this matter, of issuing a written 15 order, pursuant to Local Rule 57.7(c). 16 parties and counsel for both sides to, quote, refrain from 17 making further statements to the media or in public settings 18 that are substantially likely to have a materially prejudicial 19 effect on the case, close quote. 20 one side or the other, it would be directed to both. 21 It would require all It would not be directed at It would not be a bar on all public relations, 22 activities or press communications, but only those related to 23 this case. 24 immigration or Tom Brady as much as they wanted. 25 happy to hear from either side right now if you wanted to note A party could discuss foreign relations, I would be Case 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ Document 28-1 Filed 02/08/19 Page 5 of 6 18 1 any objections on the record at this time. 2 be necessary because I'm going to give you each an opportunity 3 to tell me what your position is in writing. 4 opposed, to provide me the reasons why I shouldn't do this in 5 writing. 6 February 8. 7 But that will not And if you're And those submissions will be due next Friday, As you consider what your position might be, there 8 are a few things that I would encourage everyone to think 9 about. First, I think it's important that the defendant should 10 be aware that to the extent any of his public pronouncements 11 turn out to be inconsistent with each other or bear on the 12 facts of the case in any way, the Office of Special Counsel 13 will be free to introduce any of them as evidence against him 14 at trial. 15 Also, I want to recognize and I think it's important 16 that this defendant has a legitimate interest in exercising his 17 First Amendment rights. 18 interest in exercising his constitutional right to have a trial 19 and to put the government to its proof. 20 responsibility to ensure that he has a fair trial. 21 notwithstanding the fact that the defendant may be well known 22 within certain circles, I believe that we will be able to seat 23 an unbiased jury, that doesn't have an opinion about the 24 allegations in this case. 25 But he's also affirmed that he has an And it's my Right now, But the problem is, while Mr. Stone may wish to be Case 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ Document 28-1 Filed 02/08/19 Page 6 of 6 19 1 free to disseminate his response to those allegations in his 2 public appearances, every time he does the media outlets may 3 feel constrained to reiterate in detail what the allegations 4 are in the indictment in response. 5 And so the upshot of treating the pretrial 6 proceedings in this case like a book tour could be that we end 7 up with a much larger percent of the jury pool that's been 8 tainted by pretrial publicity than we have now, and that's what 9 it's my job to balance here. I want to say, again, I haven't 10 heard from both sides, I haven't made up my mind. 11 read and seriously consider anything either side submits. 12 that's what I'm looking to be enlightened about. 13 And I will But But now having heard all of that, I've covered every 14 issue I wanted to cover. 15 wants to add or that I need to take up today? 16 MR. MARANDO: 17 THE COURT: 18 (Pause.) 19 MR. MARANDO: Is there anything that the government Court's indulgence, Your Honor. All right. Thank you, Your Honor. The only thing 20 that I can think of that is left, to have a formal speedy trial 21 determination made on the record. 22 23 THE COURT: that this is a complex case. 24 25 I think I said I granted your motion, MR. MARANDO: Thank you. Thank you, Your Honor. That is all.

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