NEW YORK — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money trial briefly closed the courtroom Monday, forcing reporters into the hallway after he admonished a defense witness for his behavior on the witness stand. It happened minutes into the testimony of Robert Costello, a former federal prosecutor who has publicly blasted the prosecution’s star witness, Michael Cohen. Costello aggravated Judge Juan M.
Merchan repeatedly in his testimony by making comments under his breath and continuing to speak after objections were sustained — a signal to witnesses to stop talking. At one point, Costello remarked “jeez” when he was cut off by an objection. He also called the whole exercise “ridiculous.
” After excusing the jury, Merchan told Costello: “If you don’t like my ruling, you don’t say ‘jeez’ ...
You don’t give me side eye, and you don’t roll your eyes.” Reporters were taken aback that they were being shooed out of the courtroom amid proceedings in the historic trial. They were allowed back in after about five minutes.
The prosecution rested its case earlier Monday after several days of testimony from Cohen, Trump’s loyal attorney-turned-adversary who the defense sought to paint as a serial fabulist who is on a revenge campaign aimed taking down Trump. Costello, a former federal prosecutor in New York, is relevant to the case because of his role as a Cohen antagonist and critic in the years since their professional relationship splintered in specta.