Legal scholar Professor Alan Dershowitz has slammed the “bias” he saw on display from Democrat Judge Juan Merchan during President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial in New York.
During a Monday night appearance on Fox News, Dershowitz detailed the reported courtroom exchange between the presiding judge and witness Bob Costello earlier in the day.
The angry outburst from Merchan resulted in the Biden-donor judge removing the media from the courtroom.
Dershowitz, who was in the court during the outburst, appeared on “Hannity” to discuss the ongoing trial.
The Harvard Law School professor joined a group supporting Trump in the courtroom.
Reports during the day detailed high tensions between Merchan and Costello, a former attorney for the prosecution’s key witness Michael Cohen.
Costello allegedly made comments under his breath and rolled his eyes.
The behavior allegedly pushed Merchan to kick out the media from the courtroom.
The judge also threatened Trump’s attorneys with the removal of Costello.
Fox News host Sean Hannity questioned Dershowitz on the exchange he witnessed.
Dershowitz was able to still sit in while the media was kicked out.
Hannity asked Dershowitz if he’d ever seen anything like it before.
“No, I never have,” the veteran attorney responded.
“I sat in the front row, literally just feet away from where all the action occurred.
“I rolled my eyes when the judge made some rulings that were absurd.
“Any first-year evident student would understand that he was making bias rulings in favor of one side.
“I stared him down, but Costello didn’t — he acted like a normal witness and the judge went berserk,” Dershowitz stated.
“The judge violated Trump’s constitutional right to a public trial by kicking the media out of the courtroom, I don’t know why I wasn’t kicked out.
“I heard him [Merchan] lecture Costello, ‘What you did was contemptuous, you looked at me contemptuously.'”
Dershowitz continued to compare the incident to a 1940s movie starring actress Mae West.
In the film, West plays a gold-digging singer who is tried by a judge.
She is thrown out of town after stating she was kidnapped by a masked bandit.
Dershowitz continued by taking aim at Cohen, a convicted perjurer.
He blasted Cohen for telling “lie after lie” from the witness stand.
The law professor slammed the conduct of the judge and the prosecution as an “outrage.”
Dershowitz explained on “Hannity”:
“It reminded me of Mae West, when a judge said, ‘You’re showing contempt for the court,’ and Mae West said, ‘No your honor, I’m trying my best to hide my contempt for the court.’
“I’m sure Costello was trying to hide his contempt for the court, but the judge had such a thin skin that he threatened him.
“He said he would strike the testimony and hold him in contempt if he rolled his eyes again.
“You have a constitutional right to roll your eyes and to stare at anybody. It was absurd,” Dershowitz stated.
“Then to sit so close to Cohen, watching him give lie after lie.
“Would you believe that he actually said he would not have accepted a pardon from Donald Trump after he had previously said he would do anything to avoid prison?
“He would – essentially, he would lie, he would cheat, he would do anything to avoid prison, but ‘I won’t accept the pardon from Donald Trump.’
“If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.”
“There were so many lies and then failure to allow a full testimony from the expert when the other side was allowed to introduce letters, saying…it was illegal, it was illegal, it was illegal — this expert was going to come in and rebut that.
“This judge has committed more reversible errors in the one day I was in the courtroom than I’ve seen in years and years of practicing law.
“It’s just an outrage,” Dershowitz stated.
WATCH:
Alan Dershowitz reacts after visiting Trump trial and he can’t believe it- the judge went berserk pic.twitter.com/eOpmjrMZGh
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) May 21, 2024
Cohen claims that Trump had directed him to make a nondisclosure agreement to porn star Stormy Daniels, as well as allegedly agreeing to have the plan reimbursed through falsifying business records.
However, Costello, who was Cohen’s attorney at the time, claims the allegations against Trump are false.
Costello has stated not only to the media but testified before Congress last week how Cohen repeatedly told him that he didn’t have “anything” on Trump.
Cohen notably has a history of lying under oath.
As Slay News reported, Cohen also admitted on the stand Monday to stealing thousands from the Trump Organization.
READ MORE – CNN: Michael Cohen’s Admission about Stealing from Trump Creates ‘Reasonable Doubt’
