Jonah BromwichReporting from inside the courthouse
Justice Merchan returns and tells Emil Bove, the defense lawyer, that he will give him some latitude to explore the pressure campaign that Michael Cohen said Robert Costello waged during the summer of 2018. But Merchan adds: “I’m not going to allow this to become a trial within the trial” of Michael Cohen. …
May 20, 2024, 3:42 p.m. ET
Jonah BromwichReporting from inside the courthouse
Justice Merchan sounds ill-disposed toward allowing much of Robert Costello’s testimony. It makes sense that he might be frustrated. The testimony of another witness on the defense's witness list — who seems unlikely to testify — was litigated extensively. But the judge is being asked to rule on the spot whether and how Costello can testify.
Not having time to consider such decisions could increase the chances that he will make an appealable mistake. The defense is putting a lot of pressure on the judge by introducing a witness who was not on their original witness list.
[Good reporting by Bromwich there]
May 20, 2024, 3:42 p.m. ET
Jonah BromwichReporting from inside the courthouse
Merchan says he will take five minutes to decide. “Don’t leave the courtroom,” he says, using a tone that is as close to a bark as I have heard from this judge.
