'Shocking': Retired judge says witness who 'stared down' Merchan hurt Trump defense

A retired judge scolded Donald Trump defense witness Robert Costello for “[staring] down” Judge Juan Merchan as he gave testimony at the Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday.

Retired California Superior Court Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell joined CNN’s Jake Tapper to discuss revelations from Trump's “hush money” trial as the former president's legal team mounted its defense. Questioned about the revelation that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen “admitted to larceny” on the stand, Cordell dismissed legal analysts’ claims that Cohen’s testimony was “a bomb” to the prosecution’s case.

“It's not a bombshell because the jury has already heard him testify that he took money,” Cordell argued.

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“What happened today is that the defense put a name on it — that you stole it, actually committed larceny," Cordell explained. "And [Cohen] says, 'Yeah. Okay. I did, I stole it.' So what is portrayed in the media is not what the jurors are ever going to see if they are following the judge's instructions not to look at any stories on TV or read anything about this. It's another piece of information for them to consider.”

Cordell then turned to defense witness Costello’s actions in the courtroom, which the retired judge argued “was most shocking” of the day’s testimony.

“What was most shocking was the testimony of this last witness, this lawyer, who had the audacity to make a comment about the judge's ruling on an objection and then to tried to stare down the judge,” Cordell said. “And I will tell you, I really admire how the judge handled it, which was, 'You don't stare me down and you better get it together.' And this is a lawyer, so did he help the defense? Because I think the defense after they had finished before this witness, they’re about to pop the champagne corks. And it's like no, no, no, no. I don't think this witness really helped the defense at all.”

Watch the video below, via CNN, or at this link.

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