Judge sets November trial for Trump adviser Stone

A federal judge on Thursday set a criminal trial for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former adviser Roger Stone for Nov. 5, and cautioned the Republican political operative that he needed to comply with a gag order.

Stone, a self-proclaimed political “dirty trickster,” pleaded not guilty on Jan. 29 to lying to Congress, obstructing an official proceeding and witness tampering. Those charges were brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team in its probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Stone is a longtime Trump ally who advised his campaign.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson had previously tightened a gag order limiting Stone’s public comments on the case after he posted a photo of her on his Instagram account next to an image resembling the crosshairs of a gun.

That order still stands, she told Stone at Thursday’s hearing on the case, but he must follow it. “I expect compliance,” Jackson said.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Alistair Bell)