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Legal expert Alan Dershowitz called out Judge Juan Merchan for his “outrageous” rulings in the New York criminal trial against former President Trump, arguing the case should be broadcast on television so that Americans can see the “spectacle.”On “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” Tuesday, Dershowitz called Merchan a “tyrant” after he threatened to strike the testimony of Bob Costello, the defense’s main witness, an act that Dershowitz argued would have violated the Sixth Amendment.
NY V. TRUMP: DEFENSE RESTS WITHOUT CALLING FORMER PRESIDENT TO TESTIFY; MOTION TO DISMISS PENDING
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: I’ve been in courthouses in every part of the world and in China, in Russia, in Ukraine, in Israel. I’ve been all over. I’ve never seen a spectacle like this. And that’s why it should have been on television, so the American public could see how outrageous this judge is. And CNN just does his bidding. CNN lies, lies through their teeth about what happened in court yesterday between Judge Merchan and Bob Costello. Bob Costello testifies, Merchan rules against him at every point, keeps out his testimony, makes outrageous rulings that any first-year student taking evidence would know was wrong.
Legal expert Alan Dershowitz criticized Judge Merchan for his “outrageous” rulings in the NY v Trump trial.
And Bob Costello does what I did: He rolled his eyes. And I rolled my eyes, I said, I couldn’t believe the judge was making these rulings. And the judge, thinking he’s a tyrant, clears the courtroom, throws out everybody from the media. For some reason, they allowed me to stay, and I watched as the judge berated him. And the judge said something I have never seen in a courtroom in my history, 60 years. He threatened to strike the testimony of the main witness for the defendant because of punishment of the witness for staring at the judge. Can you imagine the violation of the Sixth Amendment? The Sixth Amendment allows any defendant to confront witnesses and to present evidence in his defense. Can you imagine if this judge had actually struck the testimony of Bob Costello? It would result in an automatic mistrial, new trial, and a verdict against the prosecution. The judge was bluffing. He ought to be disciplined for making that threat because the threat was an idle threat. He obviously didn’t act on it. …
You can’t throw out a witness’s testimony and punish the defendant that way. It’s just an outrageous threat. And we didn’t see it because television is not allowed in the courtroom. … They just won’t allow the American public to watch this trial, and I don’t blame them. If I were the judge, I would never want this trial to be on television because he’s behaved so outrageously.
VideoDefense attorneys in New York v. Trump rested their case Tuesday morning without calling former President Trump to the stand to testify.
The prosecution rested its case Monday, and Trump defense attorneys called two witnesses — paralegal Daniel Sitko and a former legal adviser to Michael Cohen, Robert Costello — before resting its case.
Judge Juan Merchan dismissed the jury until after Memorial Day.
The next day, Tuesday, May 28, the jury will hear closing arguments from Trump defense attorneys and New York prosecutors.
NY V TRUMP: JUDGE TO CONSIDER DEFENSE MOTION TO DISMISS AFTER PROSECUTION RESTS CASE
The jury is expected to deliberate starting either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday after Memorial Day.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified those records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
The former president has maintained his innocence.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
VideoThis article was written by Fox News staff.
