Appeared to threaten her. Two, a tv star who says he was a victim of a hate crime faces a judge. And an angry public after he is accused of staging it. What police say was his motive. And third here, a coast guard officer in court charged with plotting to kill journalists and democrats in a massacre. But first, roger stone, the president s longtime friend. Moments ago we saw him enter the federal courthouse. Now that he has arrived for his hearing minutes from now, there is a chance he may not leave, instead going to jail. It is for reasons that have little to do with his federal indictment accusing him of obstruction and witness tampering and false statements in the whole russia investigation. Oh, no, stones legal troubles today stem from instagram, this Instagram Post of the judge overseeing his case, including todays hearing. She is amy berman jackson. She appeared to have crosshairs of a gun drawn beside her head and stone said that she was presiding over, quote, unquote, a show trial. Now, he later has apologized, saying that this instagram message has been, quote, unquote, misinterpreted and not meant to threaten the judge whatsoever. So lets go straight to washington, d. C. To the u. S. District court there. Cara, two issues i guess this judge is weighing today. Did this Instagram Post violate his gag order or the conditions of his release . Lets start there. Reporter thats right, brooke. So thats really the issue before the judge today and thats why she called roger stone in here to address her one on one. She imposed as part of his terms of release he could not intimidate any witnesses or the judge. So a key thing here is was this post meant to intimidate the judge . Was it meant to send a message to others who might be on his side and not like the judge . He has been very open about how he doesnt like the judge. He thinks shes biased because shes an obama appointee and oversaw Paul Manaforts case and sent him to jail because prosecutors said he had attempted top intimidate witnesses and tamper with witnesses. The other issue is the gag order. She put a very light gag order on him, saying that he just couldnt talk about the case in and around the courthouse, but she was allowing him to continue because thats part of what he argued is, to go on inn foe wfo make public statements. Thats how he makes his money. That gag order could be something that she decides to tighten. She has a lot of range of options she could do here. She could, you know, just give him a warning today and say he doesnt have another chance. She could impose a much tighter gag order or there is the real risk that she sends him to prison saying what he did was a serious crime. There is probably now going to be enhanced security around the judge. This gets under way about a half an hour from now where roger stone will have to face the very judge whose face he mocked up on that Instagram Post, brooke. We will see you once we know his fate. Kara, thank you so much for now there in d. C. Meantime, prosecutors say he was a selfdescribed white supremacist with dreams of how to, quote, kill every last person on earth. And now a former marine and active coast guard lieutenant is facing multiple drug and weapons charges. This may only be the beginning. His name is Christopher Paul hasson. He allegedly wanted to conduct a mass killing on members of congress and members in the media, including some of my colleagues here at cnn. He just made his First Court Appearance in maryland u. S. District court. Jessica snyder is our cnn justice correspondent following his case today. Jessica, we understand this lieutenant will stay in jail until his trial . Thats exactly right, brooke. So this coast guard lieutenant, he will be detained until trial. The judge siding with the government in this case, saying that his actions and his words were potentially quite a danger to the community and thats why he needs to be locked up behind bars. You know, this coast guard lieutenant, he sat in this courtroom very calmly, very quietly, as his defense attorney actually made quite a persuasive and tough argument to the judge here. The judge said that he did agree with some of the arguments from the defense attorney. He said he agreed that this defendant, this coast guard lieutenant has in fact served his community, has volunteered, has served his country, hes been in the coast guard for 28 years. But in the end that just wasnt enough to combat the mountain of evidence from the government here. The government, of course, listing out in this detention memo everything they found when they went into the defendants apartment in silver spring, maryland, just miles outside washington, d. C. It included 15 firearms, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and they said that he has supposedly been plotting this attack for more than two years. Hes been making up this hit list of prominent politicians as well as media figures. The government went point by point in court. The judge eventually siding with the government that this defendant will be locked up until trial. However, there is one caveat here, brooke. The judge saying that the government here has only charged this defendant with gun possession charges as well as drug possession charges. No domestic terrorism charges. The judge said because of that within 14 days if the government still has not charged lieutenant hasson with any additional crimes, any violent crimes, that the defense can come back and argue to get him released. So the government has that burden now to really move forward with this case and potentially press additional charges here. Brooke . Jessica, thank you. Lets listen in to the press conference. The safety of our community, particularly given the position of trust that mr. Hasson held with the United States government. I am very thankful for the diligent and skilled investigation of the fbi and the Coast Guard Investigative Service who worked with prosecutors in my office to conduct a thorough investigation and thankfully we were able to avoid and prevent any loss of life in this case. I should also comment that at this point none of the charges that mr. Hasson is facing have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In our system of justice, of course, that means that mr. Hasson is innocent right now of the charges that he is facing. Right now ill turn it over to mr. Johnson. All right. So there you have it. Thats what jessica was just reporting on there. I want to move on because in just a couple of minutes, empire star Jussie Smollett will appear in court for the First Time Since making what police are now saying were completely fabricated allegations and staging a bogus hate crime. He is now under arrest. He is facing a felony charge of Disorderly Conduct for allegedly filing a false report, and today chicagos superintendent of police held this impassioned News Conference where he said smollett took advantage of the pain and the anger of racism to promote his career. Im left hanging my head and asking why. Why would anyone, especially an africanamerican man, use this symbolism of a noose to make false accusations . How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile . First, smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic and political language. When that didnt work, smollett paid 3,500 to stage this attack and drag chicagos reputation through the mud in the process. And why . This stunt was orchestrated by smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary. So of course it was staged. The brothers had on gloves during the staged attack where they punched him a little bit, but as far as we can tell, the scratches and bruising that you saw on his face was most likely selfinflicted. One of the brothers worked on empire, so they had a relationship, an association. So he probably knew that he needed somebody with some bulk and he knew them. They had a previous relationship. Thats probably the only reason he chose them. We have the check that he used to pay them, so the 3,500 was for the two of them in total, and then 500 upon return. Cnns ryan young has been following this since this broke on our show some weeks ago. Youre waiting for his Court Appearance. This case has consumed the Chicago Police department. I tell you, listening to that Chicago Police superintendent, hes angry, hes angry and he has every right to be angry. Let me ask you first just on smollett in the next, you know, couple of minutes. What will we see of this bond hearing . Reporter yeah, well, first of all, were about 30 minutes away from that. The media started to gather all in here. The pen is full of people here in chicago. You cant actually video the First Court Appearance. They actually have to use sketch artists. You wont see video of the actor inside the court talking to the judge, but i think to pivot somewhere else here, talking about superintendent eddie johnson, the fact that he was so direct during that News Conference, i think people were kind of shocked. I thought we would go to that News Conference, brooke, and hear some details. I didnt know they were going to lay it out the way they laid it out. I was told some people inside the Police Department were obviously angry about the idea of the noose, not only the noose, but the motive of quite some time, he laid that motive out. The actor apparently was upset about his pay and thats what he was talking about in that sound bite there. Then they went on to give more parts of this conversation. Think about all the man hours that were used here, over 1,000 policeman hou police man hours put into this investigation. They were upset that the Police Department was taking arrows from the public how fast the investigation was going. Remember, they started this out with a grainy image of two men and from that they built the entire case. The two brothers went to nigeria. When they arrived back here, police were waiting on them. They were scared. It took 47 hours of talking back and forth before they got all of these details. Lets also talk about the superintendent and show this bite where he talks about how angry he was, just about what he thinks the actor should do next. Sure. Absolutely justice would be an apology to this city that he smeared. Admitting what he did. And then be man enough to offer what he should offer up in terms of all the resources that were put into this. Reporter so you understand that from his perspective and what he would like to see next. Obviously theres been a lot of thought process put into this. People want to see what happens next. Why would he do this . Could we hear from the actor . He never met with prosecutors or the detectives who were working this case. You can see why people are sort of wanting to ask that next question. We do have video of the brothers as they start to buy materials to try to pull this off. You should see everyone who is lined up. One thing that we have been told, he will not get any special treatment when hes leaving here. So it could be interesting as this all plays out, brooke, with him leaving. I dont know two weeks ago when we started talking about this case and heard the actor going on the subway to get something to eat and then he was jumped we would end up in this place right now. With so many people asking the obvious question, the question of why, why would this happen . We really would look to hear his side. You saw the defiant side of him when he was on gma talking to robin roberts. His timeline has never been challenged, especially with those brothers talking about why and how they did this and the fact they even went there with gloves on to sort of rough him up. How did it get to this point . Then we know about the letter that was sent to the empire set a week before this that had white powder in it. A lot of people dont talk about this, they actually called a hazmat team, the Fire Department went out there before they figured out it was asprin. There were so many alarms going off at a certain point here. You can understand why detectives are upset and they want to see how this moves forward. Of course we do have it looks like Jussie Smolletts family going by right now, im going to duck my head right now as they walk that way. That is the actors family going back towards the courthouse as we speak. As you can see, brooke, things are happening right now. As we speak, im ducking my head down. Well see what happens in the next 30 minutes. Yep. Well be waiting right along with you. You know, you point out the white substance in that envelope. We should also point out the imagery on that envelope of a man hanging from a tree, in addition to the noose that the superintendent pointed out and just couldnt believe, you know, to use a symbol of a noose, especially as a black man in this country, is reprehensible. So well stand by for that Court Appearance. Ryan young, we appreciate you being all over this. You know, were going to talk about everything. How could he do this . Why would he do this . The social impact. The fact that so Many Political candidates responded. Should they respond again . Lot to talk about. Ana navarro standing by. Youre watching cnns special live coverage. Im brooke baldwin. There are a lot of snack bars out there. What makes a kind bar so special . Maybe its the whole nuts and real fruit. Maybe its the drizzle of dark chocolate. Maybe its because its tasty and healthy. Well, theres only one way to find out. Do the kind thing. Well, theres only one way to find out. A lot will happen in your life. Wrinkles just wont. Neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repairs dermproven retinol works so fast, it takes only one week to reveal younger looking skin. Neutrogena® man 1 this is my body of proof. Woman 1 proof of less joint pain. Woman 2 . And clearer skin. Woman 3 this is my body of proof. Man 2 proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis. Woman 4 . With humira. Woman 5 humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. Humira is the 1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. Avo humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Woman 6 ask your rheumatologist about humira. Woman 7 go to mypsaproof. Com to see proof in action. Woman 7 go to mypsaproof. Com the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100 online. Now weve created a brand new way for you to sell your car. Whether its a few years old or dinosaur old, we want to buy your car. So go to carvana and enter your license plate, answer a few questions, and our technowizardry calculates your cars value and gives you a real offer in seconds. When youre ready, well come to you, pay you on the spot, and pick up your car. Thats it. So ditch the old way of selling your car and say hello to the new way. At carvana. Who the [ bleep ] would make Something Like this up or add something to it or whatever it may be . I cant i cant even im an advocate. I want them to see that i fought back. And i want a little gay boy who might watch this to see that i fought [ bleep ] back, and it does not take anything away from people that are not able to do that, but i fought back. They ran off. I didnt. What do you say to a young gay man, a young gay person . To learn to fight. I dont just mean like learn to fight. More now on the case of Jussie Smollett as we wait for him to appear in court. With me now, cnn political commenter ana navarro and l. Z. Granderson. Columnist for the Los Angeles Times and cnn. I mean, l. Z. , by the way, i want to see your shirt. Lets show everyone your shirt. Based on real events. Drop the banner. Based on real events. Throwing a little shade his way . How are you feeling . Definitely feeling like im throwing some shade his way. Now, im trying to be cautious because just because someone has been arrested or accused of a crime doesnt automatically mean the person is, you know, guilty of said crime. Weve seen time and time again people who have been arrested not, you know, have actually committed the crime. With that being said, the evidence does not look good, timeline never looked good, and i for one as an openly gay black man in the media am incredibly frustrated, angry, upset that someone would use their platform in this way to promote only themselves. You know, when this first started to be people started to talk about why and the skepticism, it was a thinking, well, maybe he did it to draw attention to the issue of gay rights and racism. Maybe he did this for political reasons. Not excusing it, but it made a little bit more sense because it felt like it was bigger than himself, what he was trying to do. Now you found out it was about him and money . Dissatisfied with his salary, is what the Police Superintendent said. That, to me, is just absolutely frustrating. It makes me angry. Weve seen people use racism and homophobia in this society for their personal gain in the past, but for some reason this just feels worse because he positioned himself as a leader of a cause while also doing this sort of thing. I dont know, ana, i dont know how you feel about this, but i just he has absolutely no space, none whatsoever to reassert himself in any of these conversatio conversations if this indeed has been a hoax. What are you thinking . I think lz is completely right. I was speaking today to a friend of mine who is pretty big in the tv and hollywood industry. He said, look, this guy is now untouchable in this industry. Its a hard thing to be. What else he said is completely right. I was mentioning to you i literally saw him seven, eight days before this event took place in miami at a tv industry event called living the dream put on by tyler perry, celebrating Martin Luther king day, talking about diversity and inclusion and the experiences of being a black man and a gay man on tv and in hollywood and why we need more representation and equal rights and, you know, he did play himself off as an advocate. Which is for me when this happened, because i had just seen him do that role. It was moderated by nischelle turner, who we all know. I still cant understand how the guy that i saw talking passionately and emotionally about his experiences as a gay black man in the tv industry could possibly do Something Like this. And i think, you know, the anger and frustration you hear in lzs voice, friends of mine who are gay or black or gay and black, so many of them are feeling exactly the same way because they, you know, because they it is because there is a spike in hate crimes. Because these things do happen. Yep. So for this man to cheapen it in order to make himself more important and more valuable is unforgiveable. It is absolutely unforgiveable. I think thats the point that we all i want to turn the discussion toward, you know, the real victims, and that is one of the things that this Chicago Police superintendent really highlighted today, right . How to how these real victims will feel. Listen to what he said. Im also concerned about what this means moving forward for hate crimes. Now, of course, the Chicago Police department will continue to investigate all reports of these types of incidents with the same amount of vigor that we did with this one. But my concern is that hate crimes will now publicly be met with a level of skepticism that previously didnt happen. I mean, lz, as i was watching him, i kept thinking, gosh, if youre a young gay person, maybe not entirely fully comfortable in your own skin or a young black gay person and you see this story and you have been targeted or could be targeted, what are you thinking, what are you feeling, what are the consequences of this . You know, lets pull it back a little bit and think about the number one reason why women who have been victimize of Sexual Assault tend dont speak up. Not to want to be public about it. Because of the scrutiny. Because of being second guessed. Because of not being believed. I believe absolutely that same principle applies here. When you have one of the bigger stars who is a racial minority as well as a Sexual Orientation minority doing Something Like this, if you are a victim of a true crime, you might be hesitant because you dont want to be second guessed. Its already hard enough to be a victim once. You dont want to be victimized twice in the public eye or in front of a police officer. Chicago has a long history of working very closely with the lgbt community. I used to live in chicago. Ive known the officers who were liaisons in the city for a number of years. They work very hard to make sure that the community in general feels safe when were out and about because hate crimes do happen. What jussie has done is make their jobs more difficult because now they have to convince victims to come forward and press charges when they may face this level of scrutiny that the police chief was talking about. Its very, very disheartening, and trust me, i mean, i dont speak for all gay people, i dont speak for all black people, that brother has no space in any capacity in my life, as far as im concerned. Television or otherwise. You know, one of the things the superintendent of police said was that he had smeared chicago. Yep. I want to tell you, this superintendent of police, the Chicago Police department have made chicago proud. Because the way that they have handled this case from the beginning, the seriousness with which they took it and the seriousness with which they are now taking these developments, and not letting anybody get away with it, it really is i think spikes speaks so highly of that police force and their integrity and character. You could tell that for that chief, eddie johnson, who is africanamerican, this cut very deep, very personally. It is his city but it is also his community, his racial group. I mean, it just, you know, this is this is something that i think he does not i think lz is right. He does not recover from. He was asked what would justice look like . He talked about if Jussie Smollett apologized, apologized to the city of chicago. I want to ask you all if thats enough or if he just needs to go away . What people need to know and hear. And also the piece that superintendent johnson mentioned about how this has become part of the 2020 president ial race. How political candidates have weighed in. What you two think should happen as a result of this being a hoax. Please stand by for that. I want to continue that conversation. Also just looking ahead, roger stone may be learning his fate any moment. Facing the judge that he appeared to threaten. So stand by. Youre watching cnn. Tmobile will do the math for you. Right now, when you join tmobile, you get two lines of unlimited with two of the latest phones included for just one hundred bucks a month. When cravings hit, hit back. Choose glucerna, with slow release carbs to help manage blood sugar, and start making everyday progress. Glucerna. With a 500,000 Life Insurance policy. How much do you think it cost him . 100 a month . 75 . 50 . Actually, duncan got his 500,000 for under 28 a month. Less than a dollar a day. His secret . Selectquote. In just minutes, a selectquote agent will comparison shop nearly a dozen highlyrated Life Insurance companies, and give you a choice of your five best rates. Duncans wife cassie got a 750,000 policy for under 22 a month. Give your family the security it needs at a price you can afford. Means they wont hike your rates over one mistake. See, Liberty Mutual doesnt hold grudges. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and Auto Insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. So a lot of people are just absolutely stunned about what we have just learned about empire star Jussie Smollett. The anger, the disgust after initially hearing what he said happened to him. Now even more hurt and contempt. One the questions is why . How did we get here . How did this story take on a life of its own. Lets go back. To within hours, a bunch of 2020 democratic president ial contenders asked about it. They were weighing in. Senator cory booker tweeted that the incident was, quote, unquote, an attempted modernday livin lynching. We saw very similar language from Kamala Harris who said we must confront that hate. Weve since seen them walk back those statements. Okay. So i will say this about that case. I think that the facts are still unfolding and im very concerned about obviously the initial allegation that he made about what might have happened. Its something we should all take seriously whenever anyone alleges that kind of behavior, but there should be an investigation, and i think that once the investigation is concluded then we can all comment, but im not going to comment until i know the outcome of the investigation. Well, the information is still coming out. Im going to withhold until all the information actually comes out from on the record sources. Im following this news as you are and well see what happens. Now, both of those senators are cosponsors that would make lynching a federal hate crime, one that looks like it may become law. Perhaps that sheds a little light on to why they were, you know, perhaps concluded what they did about the smollett case. President trump even characterized the alleged incident initially as horrible, saying it doesnt get any worse. Hours after smolletts charges were announced, this is what trump tweeted. Jussie smollett, what about maga, make America Great again and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments, maga. Chicagos superintendent said this this publicity stunt was a scar that chicago didnt earn and certainly didnt deserve. To make things worse, the accusations within this phony attack received National Attention for weeks. Celebrities, news commentators and even president ial candidates weighed in on something that was choreographed by an actor. Lz and ana are back with me. Ana, on the point about these political candidates, many of whom jumped on it initially, do you think they need to respond to this development now . Well, look, i think, first of all, you know, im not a political candidate, but i was one of the ones that respond initially. I did so because i had just seen the guy a week before. To tell you the truth, i didnt know his name before that. You know, i had watched empire but i didnt know his name. This did bring him a much higher profile. This did bring him a lot of publicity. Now we all know his name. Of course what he wanted to was increase his salary backfired because hes going to end up with no salary. Look, do they need to comment . I think, you know, after this experience people feel duped, so they are walking and treading more carefully and theres a lot of if, if, if, if true that proceeds any statements because were learning. We were learning. Look, i also think that you cannot underestimate the level of racism, homophobia, the spike in hate crimes that is real in america in 2019. There is a spike in hate crimes. We are at record levels. So i think people some people, including myself, acted so quickly and believed him because we know these things are happening. Yes. Out there. Agree. Agree. Lz, do you think celebrities or candidates, should they apologize . Do you think they should react at all now . Well, i dont know about celebrities, but i think it would be responsibility if the 2020 candidates were to Say Something thoughtful about what has occurred because, you know, lets be honest with this. The media, the National Media in particular, we stopped dropping the word alleged attack very early in this process, which kind of pointed or painted the candidates somewhat in a corner because it was being touted as fact that he was attacked because someone who has been an advocate says that he was attacked and no one thought to second guess it. Who would think someone would do Something Like this . I understand they responded the way they did. If their goal is to be leader of the free world, to be president of the United States, you have to be willing to step out there to say we will fight against hate and racism, but you also have to be willing to point out when you were mistaken or when you jumped the gun on something and didnt have all the facts. The things theyre saying now perhaps should have been the things they said on the forefront, lets make sure the police does their investigation before i comment. Thats the measured take you would want a president to take with all issues and not just this one. They were investigating it as a hate crime. Fbi involved. I mean, we are in uncharted territory in a sense here in this country. To anas point, there is such a spike in these kinds of crimes, its just extraordinary to think that this perhaps was all made up. Ana navarro and lz granderson, guys, thanks so much for a heartfelt conversation. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Our cnn special coverage continues. Were watching for another Court Appearance involving the man who calls himself a dirty trickster, quote, unquote. Roger stone has to explain an Instagram Post that appears to threaten a judge. Apparently his apology on paper was not enough. Might his next stop be a jail cell . And just in, days before his blockbuster testimony up on capitol hill, Michael Cohen meets unexpectedly with senators. Hear why. Gentle means everything, so we improved everything. We used 50 fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top Safety Standards the new johnsons® choose gentle dad hiding when i was supposed to be quitting. I thought, i should try something that works. I should try nicorette. Nicorette mini relieves sudden cravings fast. Anytime. Anywhere. Nicorette mini. You know why. We know how. Right now, the president s longtime friend is end side a federal courthouse. Roger stone could end up going to jail, accused of an Instagram Post many saw as a threat against this judge. With me now, gloria borger, cnn chief political analyst. Former prosecutor and assistant attorney for the Federal District of new york. So, caroline, talk to me about this hearing. Whats happening . Well, the judge is going to decide today whether or not to remand roger stone. Now, the question is, you know, how big of a deal is this . Obviously it was a very stupid thing to do. The question is just how grave is she going to see it . Remember, this is a little bit different when manafort was remanded. We were also shocked he had ghost written that oped piece. This is the same judge. Shes tough. The government actually reindicted. So they brought more charges against him for that. Its a little bit of a different situation. I actually dont think shes going to put him in jail this time. I think if anything shes going to sort of ratchet up the gag order in place, put additional restrictions. Just let him know that this is a serious issue but not so serious that hes going to go to jail. Could we a warning. Could be an a tighter gag or could be staying in jail. Hang on, ali. I know you want to jump in. Let me go to kara outside the white house courthouse. Reporter the judge has come into the courtroom and walked out with printouts of the Instagram Post that stone posted on monday. Now theyre going into this and shes asking whether they should change the terms of the gag order. Questioned stones defense why he shouldnt be imposed with one, he needs to make money by being able to speak freely. Shes questioning why thats the case. Roger stones lawyer, though, today said that he also thinks roger stone should testify today and explain himself to the judge. The judge said that she is considering that. Theyre still, you know, kind of going back and forth on this. Stones lawyer arguing that his bail terms shouldnt be amended, saying that it has to be a clear and present threat to an individual in order to change the bail terms. The judge is continuing to hear arguments from them. Shes pushing back on him on this notion of a gag order and why she shouldnt impose one. Its still early in the session. Thats where we are right now with the judge challenging stones lawyer on this and the lawyer saying he would like to put roger stone on the stand to explain himself today, brooke. As youve been talking, i just got information in my ear that he is approaching the witness stand right now. Wowza. Thats risky. I guess they really dont want him remanded. Its surprising all theyre talking about is should the judge expand the gag order . Because she can remand him. If he really goes south on the stand, if anyone is going to implode on the stand, it would be roger stone. She can still make that decision if she finds that posting was a threat. If she doesnt believe what she says on the stand, im sure hes going to act contrite, she has the right to remand him. This is all over the Instagram Post and how she chooses to remand him. He would testify, and in testifying this is him is this his great mea culpa in person to the judge . Well, he submitted that affidavit, the apology. So i think hes likely going to say, you know, one of the defenses was i didnt actually post the photograph. It was somebody who worked for me and i didnt know there was a crosshairs in the background. It was just a picture we got off the internet. I think hes likely going to make a defense, be contreat because judges like to see contrition, always, always, always and make the defense that he should be able to continue speaking. Gloria borger, contrition and roger stone, do they go in the same sentence . No, they really dont, but i think, you know, in todays case youre going to youre going to hear that from him. And from the judge, from our reporting, what youre going to hear the judge talk about is First Amendment restraints as they apply to, you know, criminal trials. Because these are First Amendment restraints. And roger stone is all about talking, all about the First Amendment. For himself. And, you know, hell apologize. Hell be contrite. Hell say it wasnt his fault and he took it down as soon as he heard. But roger stone is known for this. So the question is whether the history of roger stone and the sort of tricks that hes always bragged about will come into play in all of this because this may be the first incident with the judge, but it isnt the first one in his life, and that, you know, i think that needs to be taken into account here because this is his standard operating procedure. Okay. Everyone stand by. From one courthouse to another. We got to go to chicago. Were also hearing that Jussie Smollett, his bond hearing is currently under way. Hear what we just found out, including information on Text Messages. Thats next. My experience with usaa has been excellent. They really appreciate the military family and it really shows. With all that usaa offers why go with anybody else . We know their rates are good, we know that theyre always going to take care of us. It was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. It was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say oh we cant beat usaa were the webber family. Were the tenneys were the hayles, and were usaa members for life. Get your usaa Auto Insurance quote today. I felt i couldnt be at my best wifor my family. C, in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured and left those doubts behind. I faced reminders of my hep c every day. But in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured. Even hanging with friends i worried about my hep c. But in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured. Mavyret is the only 8week cure for all common types of hep c. Before starting mavyret your doctor will test if youve had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. Tell your doctor if youve had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv1, or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take including herbal supplements. Dont take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if youve had certain liver problems. Common side effects include headache and tiredness. With hep c behind me, i feel free. Fearless. And theres no looking back, because i am cured. Talk to your doctor about mavyret. Itreat them all as if, they are hot and energized. Stay away from any downed wire, call 911 and call pg e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. Pg e wants you to plan ahead by mapping out escape routes and preparing a go kit, in case you need to get out quickly. For more information on how to be prepared and keep your family safe, visit pge. Com safety. All right. So we are back in chicago now. Breaking news in the Jussie Smollett case. So hes in this hes in court right now. A bond hearing. Were getting a little bit of color on some Text Messages between smollett and these two brothers who were apparently in on this whole thing. And those Text Messages are now being read right now in this courtroom. So ryan young is covering this for us in chicago. So ryan, tell me more about whats happening right now. Reporter well, weve actually split up. So im outside here. Nick watts on the inside giving us some information whats going on on the inside. Those Text Messages, hes even reacting to them. Obviously having them read out loud is making him close his eyes and shake his head. They decided to meet january 25th to have a conversation about this, and apparently what theyre saying on the inside is he provided 100 to make sure the men were able to buy the supplies they needed to pull off the attack. It also talks about him putting together that letter before sending it off to the empire set before that. Apparently hes taken a deep breath a couple of times. Hes in the same clothing he was arrested in the, the one that we see in the mugshot. His family is sitting in one row as well. Theyve been talking for about ten minutes, and its clear right now that it seems he made sure to direct the brothers about how he wanted the attack to go down, including the statements about maga. When they attacked him, thats what they wanted to do. Remember, make you think about what happened before when the superintendent was talking. He says not only did the men show up to do the attack, but they actually kind of played it out there on the street. He took a couple of punches. They did the statement and then struggled a little bit. That was all played out. According to prosecutors on the inside, all part of the actors plan. Brooke, this is still going on. Were expecting him to get a bond and have to walk by all these cameras here. It will be interesting to see if hesitate attorneys decide to have a conversation with us when we arrived just about a half hour ago, that was his family that walked by and theyre sitting behind him right now. It looks like the actors taking this all in as the words are coming from the judges mouth and the prosecutors mouth, closing his eyes, shaking his head. You can only imagine whats going through his head at this point right now as all of this information is starting to come out. Keep the information coming. Ryan, hang tight. Dont go too far from that camera. I want to go back, though, to kara who is outside the courtroom in washington, d. C. Covering this whole roger stone case. And the question as to whether or not, you know, what the reprimand will be from this judge after he or someone, you know, with access to his instagram account, you know posted this what appears to be threatening post with the crosshairs. So youre getting more color. Hes been testifying. Its my understanding he has now apologized more than once. Reporter thats right, brooke. Hes on the stand now. Hes under oath and he was questioned by his lawyer first where he apologized multiple times. He said that he wont even offer any rationalization or an excuse as justification. This is just a stupid lack of judgement. He told the judge that he knew he abused the order, for which i am heartfully sorry. Im kicking myself. Again, he called it a lapse of judgement. Its a mea culpa to the judge. He doesnt want to have his gag order imposed. Shes pressing him asking about the symbolism. Do you know how to do a Google Search . How hard is it to find a photo of the judge without what appears to be the crosshairs . Stone is sticking to the story its a celtic symbol and maintaining its not a rifle crosshair. Its remarkable hes testifying under oath with the judge questioning him about this and this image and why he found it and why he posted it. We still have reporters in the courtroom who are feeding some new information in. She is just continuing to press him on this. Stone is saying, you know, he doesnt want this gag order to change. You know, its how he makes his livelihood. So hes really its really a mea culpa. Hes really asking the judge for some leniency here and for a second chance. And the question is still ongoing, brooke. Okay. Ill let you look at your notes. Im going to talk to gloria. Kara, thank you. But this notion that he is refusing to celtic symbol. Well, whatever. Really . Look, roger stone didnt want a gag order in the first place because hes trying to pay for his Legal Defense and he believes that the way to do that is to be able to continue to speak out. So because of his lack of judgement, stupidity, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. What hes facing now is either jail or a gag order and not being able to raise money for his for his defense. And i think thats one of the reasons we find him offering this huge mea culpa to the judge who reading our Court Reporting here sounds just a little bit skeptical that there wasnt any way to find an image of her without whatever that symbol is behind her head. And therefore she clearly assumes that it had meaning beyond t beyond, that it was a threatening symbol, the scope of a gun. So well have to wait until this plays out, but it is kind of stunning to see roger stone, who is kind of, you know, usually full of bravo dado in this situation having to apologize. Gloria, thank you. Caroline and ellie, again, one of the questions from the judge, do you know how to do a Google Search . How hard was it for you to come up with a photograph that didnt have the crosshairs on the corn . Yeah, its a traditional celtic rifle crosshair, havent you seen such a thing . Didnt you know. This is bad. A little perspective here. Ive had defendants out on bail who have been remanded and sent to jail for getting caught smoking marijuana, missing curfew, so compare that to what roger stone did here. First of all, you shouldnt be posting images of your judge anyway. And dont forget what we wrote under that image, right . Deep state. Obama appointee. Show trial. Yeah, hes attacking the very core of the process. Sure. Hes lucky right now that it sounds like the Playing Field is only are we going to tighten up the gag order or not. He is lucky. Ive had a client remanded for posting a picture of a rat on his Facebook Page with no words, just the implication the government argued it was threatening a witness. As a criminal defense attorney, you tell your clients youre in two modes, defense mode or contrition mode. You cant have it both ways. Judges dont like when you get up there and apologize and say, but, actually, its a celtic symbol. It doesnt work that way. It infuriates judges. You have to go all in on the apology and he didnt do it here. Hang tight. Were going to get more details on that courtroom as hes testifying now. Lets go back to chicago to the Jussie Smollett case. Ryan young outside the courthouse getting scoop from our folks inside, saying these Text Messages are being read now between the brothers who were in on it and jussie. It was Jussie Smolletts idea talking about, you know, make it a maga attack. We know that the attack now lasted 45 seconds and that they were out there, you know, acting out what it would look like before actually following through. These are just some of the details were also now getting here in this bond hearing thats under way. With me now, faith jenkins. Shes a criminal lawyer and former criminal prosecutor. Mark opr mark omeara is a former defense attorney. Thank you all for being with me. Faith, just starting with you, as youre hearing some of these details come out and also apparently Jussie Smolletts body language, shaking his head, deep breaths. Obviously his family is in the courtroom. What are your thoughts so far . So far . I find that this is going to be a troubling case, i think, for jussie, if he continues along the road that he has been before he was accused. He has every right as a defendant to amount an aggressive defense. We have not heard his side since he has been accused, but based on all of the trickles of information and corroborating seemingly corroborating evidence that keeps coming out that would support these two brothers in what theyve been saying, i think that his strategy Going Forward with his team of attorneys, and i do think he has some good attorneys on the case, will be to now get out in front of this after this hearing, talk to prosecutors and come up with a deal. I think for them it would be a win if he does not go to jail in a case like this. It is very serious for you to make allegations like this and if it turns out to be a hoax, if it turns out to be a hoax, you look at the the Chicago Police, theyre busy. They have a lot of things happening. They have enough issues putting resources behind crimes as it is. They dont need made up crimes to distract from that. So youre looking at a huge allocation of resources that went into something that could turn out to very well be a hoax, thats very serious and i think that the prosecutors in the state and the Police Department, theyre going to make theyre going to want to