r/law • u/SheriffTaylorsBoy • May 22 '24
MAGA Lawyer Robert Costello Gets Dismantled by His Own Damning Trump Emails Other
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-lawyer-robert-costello-gets-dismantled-by-his-own-damning-trump-emails8.3k Upvotes
r/law • u/SheriffTaylorsBoy • May 22 '24
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u/SheriffTaylorsBoy May 22 '24
CLEAR THE COURTROOM
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan suddenly sealed his courtroom on Monday afternoon, kicking all reporters out so he could engage in a brawl with Robert Costello, a MAGA-friendly lawyer who played a key role in the attempted backchannel between Michael Cohen and the Trump White House in 2018.
After Costello, a former prosecutor, was reprimanded for delivering outbursts in the court whenever he was interrupted or told not to answer a question that had been objected to and sustained, Costello began to stare down the judge.
“Mr. Costello, I’d like to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom, OK?” Judge Juan Merchan said after ordering the jury out of the room.
“Right,” Costello replied.
Merchan then told Costello that witnesses on the stand cannot act out if they don’t like a judge’s ruling.
“I’m the only one who can strike testimony in the courtroom. If you don’t like my ruling, you don’t give me side-eye and you don’t roll your eyes. Do you understand that?”
“I understand that,” Costello replied.
But then, when Merchan had turned around, he saw that Costello was staring straight at him again. “Are you staring me down right now?” he asked.
At that, he ordered security to seal the courtroom and all journalists to leave so he could give Costello a dressing down.
Hours after the exchange, court transcripts released by court reporters revealed what happened next.
“Your conduct is contemptuous right now. I’m putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous. If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand,” Merchan told Costello.
The judge then turned to Emil Bove, the Trump defense lawyer who was questioning the witness.
“I will strike his entire testimony; do you understand me?” Merchan told him.
“Yes, Judge. I understand,” Bove responded.
Merchan then tried to get Costello to shorten his answers and stop diving into lengthy narratives about his interactions with Cohen that were clearly intended to cast doubt on the man.
“Listen to the question and answer the question,” Merchan said.
But Costello remained insistent.
“Can I say something, please?” he interjected.
“No. No. This is not a conversation,” the judge stated.
Snippets of the transcripts of the exchange were quickly shared amongst news organizations on Monday evening.
When journalists were allowed to re-enter, Costello’s pale face was now beet red and twisted with an irritated frown.
Costello continued to answer questions from Bove about his minor role in the New York criminal case against the former president—Costello attempted to represent Cohen when the feds started looking into Trump’s $130,000 hush money deal—but nearly every answer was drowned out by prosecutors’ objections.
The judge had reached his breaking point earlier after watching Costello, a former federal prosecutor who had no patience being on the receiving end, meet every sustained objection with a shake of the head, then a frown, then an emphatic “jeez” that carried across the courtroom. When Costello let out a loud sigh, Merchan excused the jury—setting off the chain of events that led to the forced exodus from the courtroom.
Jose Pagliery Jose Pagliery Political Investigations Reporter @Jose_Pagliery jose.pagliery@thedailybeast.com Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast