Deepest condolences to alice stewart, family makes you the rest in peace and may your memory be a blessing . Im wolf blitzer in this room. Thanks very much for watching the news continuous. Next, on cnn tonight on three, 60 disorder in the quarters, the judge in the former president s Hush Money Trial criticizes a Defense Witness for breaking the rules decor, also, Breaking News on the Helicopter Crash that killed a rons president and eight others will have the latest on the investigation. What it means for iran in the world. And later oneonone with comedian bill maher talking trump biden what he thinks is wrong with American Politics and culture good evening. There was drama today in the trump Hush Money Trial. The likes of which we have not seen in the more than five weeks of proceedings. No sooner or the prosecution rested and the defense called another witness, and the judge merchan cleared the courtroom. Rare act after the judge cited that witness, attorney Robert Costello, for improper courtroom behavior that included the rolling his eyes and an audible sigh. One point, merchan said to costello, quote, if you try to stare me down one more time, i will remove you from the stand not something that defense likely wanted to see or hear is the whole purpose of colon costello, who had once given legal advice, the prosecutions star witness, Michael Cohen, was for him to undercut cohens credibility the defense, later as judge merchan to dismiss all charges over cohens credibility issues, the judge would only say hes reserving his decision trumps onetime fixer, an attorney spent more than 17 hours over four days on the stand. Today, the defense got cohen to admit he stole from the Trump Organization for an unrelated expense that was included in the alleged 120,000 from me, Daniel Reimbursement at the heart of the Felony Charges against the former president now the prosecution has painstakingly try to use Witness Testimony to paint trump as a micromanager who would know every detail about that payment in order for the jury to find him guilty of falsifying Business Records the prosecution also tried to rehabilitate damaging testimony. Cohen game on thursday when the defense used Text Messages between him and trumps bodyguard, Keith Schiller to suggest that a subsequent call and october 24, 2016 was not as cohen had testified, a way to contact trump about the final details of the Stormy Daniels payment but as the messages suggest a conversation with only schiller about a 14yearold crank color who was aggravating Michael Cohen. Today, prosecutors showed a still photograph from this video of a trump rally that night in florida. You can see there trump waving and in the spot shadow Keith Schiller both sides stipulated the video concludes roughly five minutes before that 8 02 pm phone call. Now, prosecutors were suggesting that it proves that schiller could have handed the phone to trump when cohen call that he was that close to him now thats of course, up to the jury to decide a jury that the judge today said would here closing arguments next week, but not before cord is back in session again tomorrow with that lawyer, Robert Costello back on the stand. Im joined now by criminal Defense Attorney arthur aidala, former federal prosecutor, jeffrey thuban, seen an anchor, abby phillip, who was in the courthouse today. New york times senior political correspondent, maggie haberman, and our own kara scannell, who was in the courtroom. Also with this johnny jones, former chief judge of the Us Middle District Court of pennsylvania, qarrah. You were there and i know you just got the transcript. What was that moment like between judge merchan and Robert Costello . It was really intense. I mean, i had not seen anything like this and it came as castello was on the Witness Stand Being questioned by prosecutors excusing by trumps lawyers and the prosecutors kind objected a number of times. I counted there were at least 15. Sustained objections, the judge saying costello couldnt answer the question because those a former prosecutor and even after the judge sustained some of them, he continued to speak. You could kind of see the judge getting frustrated, but then it snowballed after costello had after one of these sustained objections, kosinski let out a gs and it was audible enough to be heard. The back of the courtroom and it was then that the judge excuse the jury, once the jury was out of the room, he turned to costello and said, mr. Costello, i want to i would like to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. Costello interrupts him and says, but im sorry, go ahead, judge merchan, i want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. Castells is right. Judge says, okay. So when theres in this on the stand, if you dont like my ruling, you dont say jeez. Okay and then you dont say strike it because im the only one that can strike testimony in the courtroom. Do you understand that casella says, i understand. Judge has okay. And then if you dont like my ruling, you dont give me sinai and you dont roll your eyes. Do you understand that . Do you understand that casella . Well said i understand that. I understand what youre saying. Were sean said, okay. Thank you. Lets get the jury back and then theres this moment where the judge says to him, are you staring me down right now and castula says, no, im just wondering how and the judge says clear the courtroom, clear the courtroom. Chaos ensues as theyre trying to more shot all of the press and the number of media people blur objecting, saying we have a right to be here are lawyers here, and the officers saying everyone has to get out has get out. They remove us all. So everyone leaves the courtroom of everyone. No, they didnt remove the politicians that were there supporting trump, but theyve removed the members of the media. And this one row of members of the public in the courtroom and then we have the transcripts. So now we know what happened after that. And the judge had said to castello, sir, your conduct is contemptuous, right now. Im putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous. If you try to steer me down one more time, i will remove you from the stand and castula says, can i Say Something, please . The judge says, no, no, this is not a conversation wow. Maggie, great stuff. Before, i have never seen this before in a trial were donald trump as the defendant and the witnesses, the person who was drawing this kind of outrage from the judge is not what i expected because we had been looking for trump to be the person acting up in ways the judge would find upsetting any has a few times, but not like this but it was not entirely surprising because anybody who has dealt with bob costello knows that he can be a wildcard. And this is why a lot of people in trumps world thought calling him was a risk. And we got to see what a risk it was because this all took place in front of it, except for that bit at the end. But the objections all took place in front of the jury the parts of cross that took place today by the prosecutors were not great for costello. And so Michael Cohen, who is a key witness in this case, has gotten pretty roughed up by the defense, by todd blanche, in particular are specifically i should say. And he he said he stole from the yeah. And that was and that was a key moment. And in some ways was more significant than what happened last week, which was a pretty dramatic moment. But to then go into closing with what Marsha Marsha and clearly thought was a sideshow. And he made that clear when he was talking about whether even let costello testified to certain things Have Castello behave this way and then just sort of Have Castello reinforce part of what prosecutors are arguing here, which is that there is a sort of manabi aspect to this case center. A lot of the behavior by the trump people. It just doesnt seem to help im pleased. Its like as if fox news jumped out of the television and into the courthouse today. And thats been the risk. All along of bringing in a character michael costs are like bob costello. He is someone who obviously thrills the right with the way that he attacks Michael Cohens character. Im sure he thrilled donald trump with his testimony last week in front of the house committee. But in a courthouse that is not the tone and the demeanor. I mean, we talk all the time about how judge merchan is a very softspoken judge. He does not want people. He does not raise his voice and the general conduct of council, prosecution and defense is even toned and measured, even when they are making objections. So for Something Like that to unfold in this courthouse, its a sideshow judge. I mean, what do you make the judge handled . Well you know, the first comment would be just another de the office for judge merchan. I mean, i cant even imagine i would levitate out of my seat if i had a witness who is a lawyer, an officer of the court . And knows better than the talk over me and give me the eye when he sitting there, i think he handled it perfectly to warn him that he was going to hold them in contempt the Greater Question is from a tactical standpoint, why they call this witness and jurors tend, and ive said this before too. Sort of cleave to the judge. The judges that are protector, the person who breeds them sends him off at the end of the day. They dont like when a judge gets walked on by a lawyer or in this case, a witness, it leaves a really bad sensation of bad taste in their mouth. And you know, to your point, about stealing from from trump that got washed over by this witness there was a moment and they took that moment away by calling this witness with all due respect, your honor. And i dont mean to talk over you know, now, you know, on the Defense Attorney, im like Ladies And Gentlemen Of The JuryMichael Cohen admitted two grand larceny grand loss. A. Admitted that to the prosecutors in the in within the statute limitations, but de Hearing Charges against him, he is so in their pocket theres indebted to him that they didnt even charge him with a very simple crime. He admitted to the crime. He admitted it to them its an insult, arthur, i dont i dont disagree with you. That thats a moment in the case my question is, why you then you dont look is a Counter Narrative costello look, i wasnt in the courtroom. You guys were i dont know what that and i will tell you this, judge, when i Defense Attorney and im calling witnesses and now after ive walked, the jury is watch the judge, goh, question, answer, question, answer, question, answer. And now i go up and i ask the questions. Objection. Sustained. Objection. Sustained. Objection. Sustained. You know what i looked at the jury ago. They want this hushed up. They want this hush stuff. They dont want you to know this wasnt how the jury was looking at lets talk about the substance of castellows testimony, and lets talk about costello. Anybody remember the mla report . Hes actually a big figure, maggie and i were just talking about this. He the exchanges between him and cohen are according to Robert Muller a dangling of a pardon from donald trump and he was allegedly the emissary from trumpworld to cohen to dangle exactly. And thats what youre going to hear in the crossexamination tomorrow, too . Add to this atmosphere of mafioso stinking corrupt relationship between donald trump and Michael Cohen. The wreck all castellows irish. So i know you talked around mafioso and a guy named costello for the record, is it i didnt like that. I am im a little sensitive i meant i meant as presidency italianamerican generic organized crime can i can i just make a point that Arthurs Point it is true. They called him because he tells a Counter Narrative and he tells a different version of a story than what Michael Cohen does with similar facts he tells a version which is actually it was Michael Cohen reaching out to me and theres a more extensive version. But that wasnt what look, and we the caveat we dont know what the jury thanks. And we need to say that over and over again, at least in the courtroom, that wasnt what came through because he was stepping on himself. It wasnt just the objections. He at one point, Susan Hoffinger prosecutor, who is doing the crossexamination of him, was asking a question and he spat out speed speaking to the mic, and the jurors to him looked at each other when he did that. So i dont i dont know how much is counternarrative came through. I understand what youre saying. I think the client was very happy, but i think what the defendant is happy with and what the rest of his team is happy with. Its not always the same thing. Thats all im saying. Its really one other point that i would just make in terms of what the judge said about how judge merchan i handled it. I think there were sean has actually been bending over backwards to be fair to the defense. The defense cannot stand him and thats very clear in everything. I think that with a lot of things he has done, he has tried not to be in confrontation with donald trump how you justify kicking out the press and keeping in Donald Trumps supporters when you say clear the courtroom, i dont quite know how that one the judge was also even before costello took the stand, he expressed some concern for the defense that this was not a wise course of action. He basically was like, are you sure you want to go down this call to sack of this Pressure Campaign allegedly that Michael Cohen said he was subject to. He tried to warn them and they didnt listen then they put them on the stand anyway. Well see what the result will be in the other moment that i noticed today was with the clip from cspan that there was an inability apparently to stipulate and then they stipulated later they thought better of it, which youd get at sidebar and say, are you kidding me that you wont stipulate to this . And i understand its a death cage match. Nobody wants to stipulate to anything at that point, but im not sure that thats a good tactic to do and maybe thats what the former president shook about Michael Cohen stealing from the Trump Organization. I mean, how important is that . Well, i think it is it gives the defense the opportunity to say hes not just a liar, but hes a thief so you double up. It is important and its going to come out and closing arguments and theyll lean heavily into it. I just dont know whether the jury doesnt have baked into the narrative already. This is a bad guy and theyre not particularly surprised about from my perspective, i dont know that its as severe as it was made out to be in the moment today i would agree with that because i mean, just being in the courtroom, i felt like there was a look little bit of a dichotomy between people who were in the room and outside of the room and i was an overflow but i was hearing the arguments as they were happening the gist of the story was both bad for Michael Cohen and also bad for trump because at the end of the day, the story was essentially that trump that Michael Cohen got a company to pay for trump to do better in some stupid poll that no one cared about. And trump didnt want to pay the company and that Michael Cohen eventually gave them 20,000 in cash which and then took the money that the Trump Organization repaid him. Bad for Michael Cohen, but also the sort of little Between The Lines part of it is that trump probably would not have paid them at all. How about this that doesnt make iri has been and weve covered it for four weeks. Trump is so care for this money. He knows where every dollar goes he signs every check that tiffany frame 650 grand weight that went disappear he didnt know that agree with you on that and i think that i was surprised that the that the defense didnt actually doubled down on that because youre totally right that its not actually clear here whether trump knew Michael Cohen was actually paying that company and the defense never really went down that road to say, well, if trump is so careful, widen he know about this it is worth remembering. The prosecution did mention this in his direct testimony, so this was not a a hidden imam shell. The other thing is cooperating witnesses often do terrible things and they get passes all the time and isnt that right i just need to say this for my own peace of mind. If donald trump is sitting in that seat, if barack obama was sitting in that seat, or joe schmo was sitting in that seat . Whoever it is, i dont get what party you remember. If i am the district attorney, the way i was raised in the law, you do not bring the very first case ever against the president in the United States under these facts and circumstances where your main witness is somewhat