Judge Engoron encouraged the attorneys in the case to be respectful of one another as the sparring continued during the cross-examination of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

After Assistant Attorney General Colleen Faherty attempted to object to why a news article referenced by the defense was not entered into evidence, defense attorney Chris Kise responded, "Just sit down and you will find out."

Cohen rarely looked toward Trump, largely directing his attention at Habba as she posed questions and shot back comments.

"You are very good at blaming other people," Habba observed to Cohen at one point during his testimony.

After Engoron called for the attorneys to be respectful, Kise retorted: "Respect is not something you get -- it's something you earn."

Confrontational outbursts punctuated the ongoing cross-examination of Michael Cohen as defense attorney Alina Habba attempted to confront the former Trump attorney with nearly a decade of his past statements about his ex-boss.

Habba showed Cohen portions of his books -- one of which was handed out in court -- as well as past comments on social media and media interviews in which Cohen heaped praise on Trump before Cohen broke with Trump in 2018.

"I can tell you that Mr. Trump's memory is fantastic, and I've never come [across] a situation where Mr. Trump has said something that is not accurate," Cohen told CNN in 2015 in a quote that was read aloud by Habba in court.

Habba also read from an ABC News story in which Cohen said he admired Trump and that he had read Trump's book, "The Art of the Deal," twice while in high school.

"I have answered every question you want. Why are you screaming at me?" Cohen asked Habba at one point after a line of questions related to his 2015 CNN appearance.

"Do I have animosity towards him? Yes, I do," Cohen said about Trump, as the former president sat just feet away from him.

"You have made a career out of publicly attacking President Trump, haven't you?" Habba asked.

"Yes," Cohen said.

The heated cross-examination of Michael Cohen resumed with the state attorney general's office accusing defense lawyers of "showmanship" and the judge stepping in to referee.

Trump attorney Alina Habba accused Cohen of perjuring himself when he pleaded guilty in 2018 to criminal conduct including tax evasion, among other crimes. Cohen testified yesterday that "there was no tax evasion. At best, it could be characterized as a tax omission."

Habba said that testimony amounted to perjury. Collen Faherty, a lawyer for the state, accused Habba of "showmanship" and "a little bit of a stunt."

Habba shot back, "This is not showmanship. I'm just doing my job."

Another Trump lawyer, Chris Kise, interjected, "There is nothing wrong with calling a liar a liar. Perjury is perjury. The attorney general is trying to cover for an extraordinarily defective witness."

Judge Engoron sided with the defense but instructed Habba to not use the word "perjury," prompting Trump to shake his head.

"Yesterday was the first time you admitted in open court that you lied to Judge Pauley?" Habba asked, referring to the federal judge who took Cohen's plea.

"In open court, yes," Cohen responded.

Addressing reporters in the hallway before he entered the courtroom, Trump spoke about the current House speaker race, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and his false allegations of a rigged election.

"We're a nation in decline, all because of a rigged and stolen election," Trump said before entering court for the resumption of Michael Cohen's cross-examination.

Before Cohen returned to the stand, defense attorney Alina Habba requested that Judge Engoron and his clerk refrain from any distracting behavior.

"It is incredibly distracting when there are eye rolls and constant whispering at the bench," said Habba, who added that the judge she clerked for earlier in her career was "very strict."

Donald Trump has lost his appeal to throw out the limited gag orders and associated fines in his civil fraud trial.

In a decision Thursday, New York's Appellate Division, First Department rejected Trump's request to annul and vacate the limited gag orders imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron that prohibit Trump and attorneys from commenting on the judge's staff.

In November, Trump's lawyers asked the Appellate Division to vacate the gag orders, citing a provision of New York state law to personally sue Judge Engoron. But the court said in today's ruling that the method used to appeal the gag orders was an improper application of the law.

"To the extent there may have been appealable issues with respect to any of the procedures the court implemented in imposing the financial sanctions, the proper method of review would be to move to vacate the Contempt Orders, and then to take an appeal from the denial of those motions," the ruling said, indicating that Trump should use the normal appellate process to pursue the vacating of the gag orders.

The court also determined that the "extraordinary remedy" requested by Trump's lawyers did not match the minimal potential harm from barring statements about Engoron's staff.

"Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements regarding the court's staff," the decision said.