Prosecutors Keep Witness Lineup From Trump’s Legal Team During Trial
Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York made the unusual decision to withhold the witness lineup from Trump’s legal team. This move, led by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, caused tension as the defense sought information. The decision came amidst concerns of witness tampering and the sensitivity of the case. The trial’s dynamics and legal strategies are scrutinized as the proceedings unfold.
Prosecutors made the unusual decision this week to remain almost entirely mum about the order in which they planned to call their first witnesses in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York.
Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor working on behalf of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said Friday evening he would let Trump’s attorneys know the name of their first witness on Sunday night, the day before opening arguments in the case are set to begin, according to a report from the courtroom. Trump’s defense team had asked for the names of the first three witnesses that prosecutors would call.
However, Steinglass warned that if Trump posted about the first witness on social media, he would cease extending defense attorneys the courtesy of a heads-up.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys receive lists of witnesses before the trial, but they do not know the order in which the opposing parties will call their witnesses. It is common practice for parties to give advanced notice to each other of the general order in which the witnesses will appear.
Steinglass’s remarks about waiting until Sunday to provide the name of the first witness came after prosecutors initially declined altogether to offer any information about the first witnesses they planned to question. Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche had asked on Thursday if Steinglass could tell him who the first three would be.
Steinglass “balked” at the request and Blanche appeared “mystified” by Steinglass’s negative response to him, according to reports circulated by a pool of courtroom reporters.
“Mr. Trump has been tweeting about the witnesses,” Steinglass told Blanche. “We’re not telling them who the witnesses are.”
Blanche then asked Judge Juan Merchan if he could have the information if he promised Trump would not post on social media about the witnesses, to which Merchan replied that he did not believe Blanche could make such a vow.
Attorney Karen Agnifilo, a Trump critic who formerly worked in top positions in the Manhattan DA’s office, told the Washington Examiner in an email that prosecutors denying defense attorneys notice about their witness order was abnormal, but she also argued that in her view, it was justified in this case.
“He threatens witnesses so when that happens that is what they do,” Agnifilo said.
Conservative attorney Andy McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, said Merchan should allow extra time for Trump’s attorneys to prepare for their cross-examination of witnesses if the judge is going to allow prosecutors to withhold their names until the last minute.
McCarthy also noted that while Trump has made aggressive remarks about witnesses, such as calling known witness Michael Cohen a “sleaze bag” who has been “prosecuted for LYING,” he has not threatened Cohen or any others in the case.
“Threatening witnesses is a crime,” McCarthy told the Washington Examiner. “If Bragg had evidence of threats, he would charge Trump — in light of how ludicrous the case Bragg has charged is, you have to figure he’d indict Trump for a more serious offense if he had the proof.”
In terms of witnesses, Trump has mainly targeted Cohen but has also mentioned another expected witness, Stormy Daniels, to whom Bragg alleges Trump hid payments to help his 2016 election prospects.
Through a gag order, Merchan restricted Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, from speaking about witnesses in the case. Merchan cited the “singular power” Trump’s words have on “countless others,” and he said prosecutors made a “compelling” argument that Trump’s words prompt his supporters to lob threatening remarks at Trump’s targets.
Trump’s comments about Cohen and Daniels are not bringing them newfound public attention, however.
The pair have, unlike other witnesses in the case, embraced public personas that largely involve criticizing Trump. Cohen has his own podcast and several books, including a book called Revenge about Trump, and Daniels has released a documentary about herself that details her experiences with the former president. Cohen has in recent weeks also ramped up his media appearances as he attempts to defend his credibility in anticipation of defense attorneys showcasing how Cohen has pleaded guilty to federal crimes of lying to a bank and to Congress.
“I don’t think Trump should speak disparagingly about witnesses, and I don’t like the rabid behavior of some Trump supporters, but saying, for example, that Michael Cohen is a convicted perjurer is not a ‘threat’; it’s a fact,” McCarthy noted.
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Andrew Warren, a Florida-based Democratic attorney and former federal prosecutor, noted that even if prosecutors were to give no notice to Trump’s team about witnesses, it should not disadvantage the defense.
“The witness lists are turned over far in advance,” Warren said. “So whether the witness is called the first day of trial or the tenth day of trial, the attorneys have prepared for this. It would be unusual if a party said, ‘We’re not prepared to cross-examine a witness until you let us know that that witness is coming in next.’ That would be highly unusual.”
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