Robert Costello was called as a defense witness and quickly admonished by the judge for being contemptuous.

Evidence

The judge told Costello, a former federal prosecutor, he was … (WSLS 10 Facebook)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Ellis’s apparent stumble was mischaracterized by the prosecution. — Lynley Hood, A City Possessed, 2868; After sending reporters out of the courtroom, judge threatened to hold Robert Costello in contempt if the witness continued to stare at him. — Judge erupts in Trump hush money trial over witness …; Judge Merchan briefly booted the public after scolding defense witness Robert Costello. — Prosecutors rest their case against Donald Trump in dramatic day of … (+6 more)

Related

• After sending reporters out of the courtroom, judge threatened to hold Robert Costello in contempt if the witness continued to stare at him. (similarity 0.93)
• Judge Merchan accused Costello of exhibiting ‘contemptuous’ conduct and threatened to remove him from the stand if he tried to stare him down again. (similarity 0.90)
• Judge Merchan briefly booted the public after scolding defense witness Robert Costello. (similarity 0.89)
• Judge Merchan said ‘Sir, your conduct is contemptuous right now’ and cleared the courtroom to admonish Costello. (similarity 0.89)
• Less than 15 minutes into Costello’s testimony, the typically even-tempered judge appeared fed up with Costello’s behavior and sent the jury out. (similarity 0.88)
• The judge briefly cleared the courtroom while he admonished the witness and threatened to kick him off the stand. (similarity 0.88)
• Judge Juan Merchan asked the jurors to leave the courtroom so he could admonish Costello over his behavior on the stand. (similarity 0.87)
• The judge in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial cleared the courtroom on Monday to reprimand a witness and ally of the former president. (similarity 0.82)
• The prosecution rested its case and the defense called its first witness, Robert Costello. (similarity 0.81)
• Costello’s fiery testimony made aspects of the prosecutors’ case even ‘stronger than it was,’ according to a retired state judge. (similarity 0.79)