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In a startling precursor to what could be the most explosive testimony in Donald J. Trumps criminal trial, the judge on Friday told prosecutors that he was personally asking that a key witness stop speaking out against the former president.

The witness, Michael D. Cohen, was once a personal lawyer for Mr. Trump and in 2016, paid $130,000 in hush money to a porn star to silence her account of extramarital sex with the then-presidential candidate. Mr. Cohen, who is expected to begin testifying next week, has been outspoken in his taunting of Mr. Trump, recently posting a TikTok video in which he wore a shirt with a picture of the former president behind bars.

On Friday, moments after prosecutors acknowledged that they have little control over their star witness, the judge, Juan M. Merchan, asked them to tell Mr. Cohen again to refrain from making any more statements about the case. He made it clear that the directive came from the highest authority in the court: him.

That comes from the bench, Justice Merchan said.

Mr. Cohen declined to comment.

Justice Merchans remarks might as well have been a billboard previewing next weeks main event. Mr. Cohen is crucial to the case: He says that records of his reimbursements for the hush-money payment were falsified in 2017 at the then-presidents direction.

The judges admonition injected a sense of anticipation into an otherwise placid proceeding, perhaps the first routine day in a most unusual trial. Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorneys office steadily tightened their focus on the central accusations against Mr. Trump ahead of what they said could be their final week of witness testimony.

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Judge Merchan Cracks Down on Michael Cohens Taunting of Trump in Hush-Money Case - The New York Times