It's no secret that Judge Juan Merchan is a partisan judge who has exhibited prejudicial behavior against Donald Trump in his Manhattan trial, but famed lawyer and law professor Alan Dershowitz had to see for himself. He attended the Trump trial on Monday and was appalled at what he saw.
Dershowitz appeared on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News Monday evening, during which he destroyed Merchan for his conduct during the testimony of Michael Cohen's former lawyer, Bob Costello. It got extremely tense at times, and Merchan even cleared the courtroom before scolding Costello over his alleged violation of decorum.
“I’d like to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. As a witness in my courtroom, if you don’t like my rulings, you don’t say, ‘Jeez,’” Merchan reportedly told Costello. "You don't give me side eye, and you don't roll your eyes."
While the public was removed for that moment, Dershowitz, who is not involved in the case, was surprisingly allowed to remain.
"I've got to imagine in all the years you practice law, have you ever seen anything like this?" Hannity asked.
"No, I never have," Dershowitz replied. "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 evidence student would understand that he was making biased rulings in favor of one side."
"I stared him down, but Costello didn't," Dershowitz continued. "He acted like a normal witness, and the judge went berserk. 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, and I heard him lecture Costello… 'What you did was contemptuous. You looked at me contemptuously.' 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."
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Dershowitz added, "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!"
"And then, to sit so close to Cohen, watching him give lie after lie — would you believe what 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,'" Dershowitz pointed out.
"If you believe that, I 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 — that the jury will believe it, as Jonathan correctly said — that it was illegal. 'It was illegal! It was illegal!' This expert was gonna 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."
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
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