Judge rebukes Trump lawyers as prosecution accuses them of 'witness intimidation'

New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron rebuked lawyers for Donald Trump after his legal team allegedly attempted to intimidate a witness.

During his New York fraud trial, Trump was accused of talking during the testimony of appraiser Doug Larson, who testified that he didn't condone the Trump Organization's method of valuing properties.

Stewart Bishop of Law360 was in the courtroom as Engoron admonished Trump.

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"Ok, I'll ask everyone to be quiet when the witness is testifying, particularly if it's meant to influence [the] testimony," the judge said, according to reports.

Trump attorney Lazaro Fields accused Larson of perjury in his previous testimony. Trump attorney Chris Kise then stood up and asked the court to advise Larson of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, causing Engoron to have the witness escorted from the courtroom.

But prosecutors accused the Trump team of a stunt to intimidate Larson.

"This is witness intimidation, your honor," prosecutor Colleen Faherty told the judge.

"This is a performance," another prosecutor chimed in. "I've never seen anything like this."

"It's not a performance, I take this very seriously," Kise replied.

But Engoron refused to let the discussion derail the trial.

"Mr Kise...my role is to get the witness to testify. If he perjured himself yesterday or he perjured himself today, I don't care. I just want him to testify," the judge said. "Get the witness back here as soon as possible."