Roger Stone judge gave him a second chance — but he’ll ‘mess up again’ and go to jail: CNN legal analyst

CNN legal analyst Laura Coates on Friday said that Judge Amy Berman Jackson this week let Trump ally Roger Stone off relatively easy after he posted a threatening meme of her on social media because she knows he will inevitably blow his second chance.

Jackson on Thursday slapped Stone with a total gag order and barred him from talking about his case with anyone, or even having surrogates talk about the case on his behalf.

Coates told host Alisyn Camerota that Jackson could have ordered Stone imprisoned until trial for his actions, but she said it was a smart move to give him a second chance so that she didn't appear overly biased against him.

"Many judges would have said, 'You're already here for lying, for witness tampering, trying to influence a prosecution in some form or fashion... and now you're threatening the court,'" she explained. "Many would have thrown him in jail based on that alone."

The trouble for Stone, Coates said, is that he has shown very little impulse control in the past and seems highly likely to violate his new gag order.

"I think her ultimate conclusion was that, frankly, he may mess up again," she said. "And now she'll have more than enough basis and grounding to throw him in jail."

Watch the video below.