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Iwas inside the court when the judge Rich Lowry

closed the Trump trial, and what saw I

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shocked me
mercy when they do

By Alan Dershowitz
Published May 21, 2024 Updated May 21, 2024, 1:41 p.m. ET
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Ihave observed and participated in trials throughout the world. I have seen justice and injustice in China,
Russia, Ukraine, England, France, Italy, Israel, as well as in nearly 40 of our 50 states.

But in my 60 years as a lawyer and law professor, I have never seen a spectacle such as the one I

observed sitting in the front row of the courthouse yesterday.

The judge in Donald Trump’s trial was an absolute tyrant, though he appeared to the jury to be a
benevolent despot. He seemed automatically to be ruling against the defendant at every turn.

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Alan Dershowitz was allowed to stay in the courtroom during former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial while
Judge Juan Merchan scolded witness Robert Costello.
Steven Hirsch

Many experienced lawyers raised their eyebrows when the judge excluded obviously relevant evidence
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when offered by the defense, while including irrelevant evidence offered by the prosecution. incident emerge from ESPN voice

But when the defense’s only substantive witness, the experienced attorney Robert Costello , raised his
eyebrows at one of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s rulings, the court went berserk. 58,828

Losing his cool and showing his thin skin, the judge cleared the courtroom of everyone including the
media.

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For some reason, I was allowed to stay, and I observed one of the most remarkable wrong-headed biases
I have ever seen. The judge actually threatened to strike all of Costello’s testimony if he raised his

eyebrows again.

That of course would have been unconstitutional because it would have denied the defendant his Sixth
Amendment right to confront witnesses and to raise a defense.

It would have punished the defendant for something a witness was accused of doing.

Even if what Costello did was wrong, and it was not, it would be utterly improper and unlawful to strike his
testimony — testimony that undercut and contradicted the government’s star witness.

The judge’s threat was absolutely outrageous, unethical, unlawful and

petty. see also
Moreover, his affect while issuing that unconstitutional threat revealed
his utter contempt for the defense and anyone who testified for the
defendant.

The public should have been able to see the judge in action, but
because the case is not being televised, the public has to rely on the
Michael Cohen’s ex-
biased reporting of partisan journalists. ttorney contradicts
Trump ‘fixer’s testimony,
But the public was even denied the opportunity to hear from journalists gets ripped by judge in
fiery scene at hush
who saw the judge in action because he cleared the courtroom. money trial

Iam one of the few witnesses to his improper conduct who remained
behind to observe his deep failings.

Even when journalists do report on courtroom proceedings, their accounts must be taken with a grain of
salt. When you watch CNN or MSNBC, you generally see an account of a trial that never took place.

They spin the events so much that reality is totally distorted.

Iexperienced that distortion firsthand yesterday, when I saw one of my former students and research
assistants, a CNN legal analyst named Norman Eisen, during a break and went over to him and asked
him about his family. We chatted for a few minutes in the most friendly way.

But NBC, the Daily Beast and other media decided to make up a story about the event. They claimed that
I had a spat with my nemesis, rather than a friendly conversation with a former student. Their account was

made up, yet it was circulated through the media.

To his credit, Eisen wrote to the media to correct the account, saying that the person sitting next to him
would confirm the media’s false reporting. I doubt we will see a retraction.

This minor incident is simply the tip of a very large and deep iceberg of
see also false reporting about the trial that can only occur because the
proceedings are not being televised.

There are television cameras in the courtroom, and they record and
transmit every word, but not to the public; only select reporters in the
overflow room see what the cameras transmit.

There is absolutely no good reason why a trial of this importance, or

Donald Trump will not
testify at his ‘hush any trial, should not be televised live and in real time. Allowing the
money’ criminal trial as public to see their courts in action is the best guarantee of fairness. As
defense rests Justice Louis Brandeis wisely said a century ago, “Sunlight is the best
disinfectant.”

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, we used to listen to the colorful account of Dodger games
rendered by Red Barber on the radio.

Occasionally when I went to a game and brought my portable radio, I could hear how the “old redhead,”
as we called him, colorfully elaborated and exaggerated what was occurring on the field.

Once television came along and everyone could watch the games live, the accounts became far more
accurate, because we could see everything for ourselves.

A similar phenomenon would operate if trials were televised; it would force commentators to tell the truth
and nothing but the truth.

Today there is no check on partisan reporting of trials and exaggerations and personal opinions are
rampant.

The American public is the loser.

Alan Dershowitz is a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School.

Filed under alan dershowitz donald trump 5/21/24

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El Gordo
19 minutes ago
It is a show trial, he will be convicted, will be immediately jailed, given the maximum sentence
nd zero chance of winning an appeal in left wing NY. The prosecutor, judge and state's
is to keep him off the ballot.

Reply 22 Share

Palb
2 minutes ago
Oh I suspect he'll be convicted and probably even jailed although any judge would have to
et him out on bail with the wonderful bail laws we have. And of course his case will be
and appeals court because they didn't mean to convict him permanently they
to keep him out of the race ...
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Reply 4 Share

Show 3 more replies

Marcus
33 minutes ago
God bless Alan D.He stands for the America which became the greatest nation on earth with
greatest legal system.The nation and its legal system are being destroyed
Reply 103 Share

Phil Osophies
17 minutes ago
The only thing shocking is that Alan Dershowitz is shocked by the Democrat's
aspirations.
Reply 26 Share
1 reply

Erik Schwartz
17 minutes ago
You do know this is the guy who got Epstein that original plea deal and has been accused
assaulting minors by multiple Epstein victims...
Reply 5 Share
3 replies
Show 4 more replies

Indie Voter
20 minutes ago
Winners and Losers:

I hope there is a way to reprimand or otherwise punish Judge Merchan, if indeed the Judge has
een as biased and "un-judicial" as he has been characterized by Mr. Dershowitz, Mr. Turley,
many others.

The Main Stream Media has freedom of the Press to spout whatever they want. ...

See more
Reply 9 Share

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