NEW YORK — A defense witness in Donald Trump’s case, who the judge threatened to remove from the trial because of his behavior, will return to the stand on Tuesday as the trial nears its end.
Trump’s lawyers hope Robert Costello’s testimony will help undermine the credibility of a key prosecution witness, Trump nemesis Michael Cohen.
But Costello angered Judge Juan Merchan on Monday by making hushed comments, rolling his eyes and calling the entire exercise “ridiculous,” prompting the judge to briefly banish reporters from the courtroom to admonish him.
The judge told Costello, a former federal prosecutor, that he was being “contemptuous,” adding, “If you try to get in my face one more time, I will remove you from the stand,” according to a court transcript.
Costello did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Monday.
The chaotic scene unfolded after prosecutors rested their case accusing Trump of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to bury stories he feared could harm his 2016 campaign. The case is in the final stretch, with closing arguments expected on Tuesday. the Thursday after Memorial Day.
The accusations stem from internal Trump Organization records, where payments to Cohen were marked as legal expenses. Prosecutors say it was actually refunds for a secret $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from going public before the 2016 election with allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump says nothing sexual happened between them.
Trump said he did nothing illegal and criticized the case as an effort to thwart his attempt to reclaim the White House in 2024. Trump called the judge a “tyrant” in comments to reporters as he left the courtroom on Monday and called the judge trial as a “disaster” for the country.
After jurors left on Monday, defense attorneys pressured the judge to dismiss the charges before jurors even began deliberating, arguing that prosecutors had failed to prove their case. The defense suggested that Trump was trying to protect his family, not his campaign, by suppressing what he says are false and salacious allegations.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche argued that there was nothing illegal about requesting a tabloid’s help to publish positive stories about Trump, publish negative stories about his opponents and identify potentially damaging stories before they are published. No one involved “had any criminal intent,” Blanche said.
“How is hiding a false story from voters criminal?” Blanche asked.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo responded that “the evidence at trial overwhelmingly supports every element” of the alleged crimes, and the case should go to the jury.
The judge did not immediately rule on the defense’s request. Such remote requests are often made in criminal cases but are rarely honored.
The defense called Costello because of his role as Cohen’s antagonist, as their professional relationship fell apart in spectacular fashion. Costello offered to represent Cohen shortly after the lawyer’s hotel room, office and home were raided and as Cohen faced the decision of whether to remain defiant in the face of a criminal investigation or to cooperate with authorities in hopes of securing better treatment. bland.
In the years since, Costello has repeatedly smeared Cohen’s credibility and was even a witness before last year’s grand jury that indicted Trump, offering testimony designed to undermine Cohen’s account. In an interview with Fox News last week, Costello accused Cohen of lying to the jury and using the case to “monetize” himself.
Costello contradicted Cohen’s testimony, describing Trump as intimately involved in every aspect of the silence scheme. Costello told jurors Monday that Cohen told him Trump “knew nothing” about the hush-hush payment to Daniels.
“Michael Cohen said countless times that President Trump knew nothing about these payments, that he did it himself, and he repeated it countless times,” Costello testified.
Cohen, however, testified Monday that he has “no doubt” that Trump gave him final approval to make the payments to Daniels. In total, he said he spoke with Trump more than 20 times about the issue in October 2016.
Trump lawyer Emil Bove told the judge that the defense does not plan to call any other witnesses after Costello, although it may still call campaign finance expert Bradley A. Smith for limited testimony. They have not said definitively that Trump will not testify, but this is the clearest indication that he will waive his right to take the stand in his own defense.
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Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Michelle Price in New York; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; and Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.
