Judge in Trump trial threatens to remove defense witness

• Defense witness in Trump trial angers the judge.
• Robert Costello is almost removed from the stand.
• What happened?

Former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial had a tense moment as it nears its conclusion.

The judge nearly expelled defense witness Robert Costello due to his hostile behavior during the hearing.

Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records, which could result in a prison sentence.

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Defense witness in Trump trial angers the judge

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal trial was close to removing defense witness Robert Costello on Monday.

Costello, a former federal prosecutor and later critic of Michael Cohen, responded to Cohen’s testimony and challenged him with a stare.

Initially, the prosecution attempted to prevent Costello from testifying, but they were unsuccessful, according to EFE.

When he took the stand, the prosecutors objected, often successfully, to most of the questions Trump’s legal team asked Costello.

Tension during the Trump trial!

Who is Robert Costello, the Trump witness accused of staring down judge?

by Miranda Nazzaro – 05/20/24 6:47 PM ET https://t.co/DPGbQQz9N0

— K_Conner (@kvconner) May 21, 2024

However, at times Robert Costello ignored warnings not to respond to Judge Juan M. Merchan, until the judge directly warned him to wait to hear before answering.

«Jeez,» murmured Costello after one of the objections, to which the judge surprisingly responded, «Excuse me?»

Merchan asked the jury to leave the room and emphasized that in his courtroom, his rules must be followed.

Costello agreed, but rolled his eyes, let out a big sigh and stared at Judge Merchan.

Robert Costello is nearly removed from the courtroom

WOW. Judge Merchan just lost it on Robert Costello:

Merchan Yells: “Mr. Costello you’re to remain seated.”

Robert Costello rolled his eyes and let out an audible sigh…

Merchan: “I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. You don’t give me a side eye and you don’t… pic.twitter.com/PRNnBq0RRc

—Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) May 20, 2024

«Are you staring me down right now?» asked Merchan and immediately requested that the journalists and the public leave the courtroom.

When the press returned to the room, Costello was still seated on the stand, but with a much more serious expression.

Today, Costello stated that Trump’s former attorney and right-hand man told him that the Republican businessman did not know he had made payments to Stormy Daniels.

These were to prevent her from revealing that she had a tryst with Trump while he was married.

What did Costello say about Michael Cohen?

Costello testified that he met with Cohen in April 2018 for two hours.

He said the former attorney swore that Trump was not involved in the payments.

This contradicts Cohen’s testimony last week, stating that Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to silence Daniels during the 2016 campaign, detailing how he was later reimbursed for his expenses.

Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, has spent four days responding in detail to the lawyers’ questions.

The trial is nearly over

Trump is charged with 34 serious offenses, including falsifying business records and, if convicted, could be sentenced to probation or up to four years in prison.

On Tuesday Costello took the stand again to continue answering questions from both the defense and the prosecution.

Monday marked the sixth week since the trial began and the prosecution rested its case after interrogating nearly twenty witnesses.

Final arguments are expected to start next week, after which the jury will deliberate.