Defence lawyer Giannella De Marco threatened to request the dissolution of the jury on Tuesday evening after Johann Cremona was brought back to court and questioned over an alleged attempt to influence his testimony.The dramatic exchange came after Keith Schembri claimed that Cremona had told him he was offered €200,000, and later €400,000, by Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers to testify in Fenech’s favour.Prosecutors requested that Cremona be brought back to court to answer questions about the allegation, describing it as a clear claim that the defence had tried to bribe a witness. Fenech’s lawyers objected, but Madam Justice Edwina Grima ruled in the prosecution’s favour and ordered court marshals to bring Cremona back.Once on the stand, Cremona repeatedly hesitated and refused to give a clear answer.Asked whether he had spoken to Schembri and told him he had been offered money, Cremona first said: “Maybe.”Pressed further, he said he did not want to harm anyone.At one point, he told the court: “I will take the blame, I will assume all consequences.”Judge Grima warned Cremona several times that he was required to tell the truth and could be held under arrest if he continued refusing to answer.Asked directly who had offered him money, Cremona said: “Maybe I made it up.”The judge said she did not believe him, telling him that if he had invented the claim, he would have said so immediately.Cremona later repeated that he had made it up, saying he felt he had to tell Schembri that. However, Schembri stuck to his version, telling the court he “absolutely” maintained that Cremona had told him about the alleged offers.The prosecution asked for Cremona to testify in private, arguing that he was clearly frightened. The judge refused the request.Cremona also confirmed that Schembri had sent him a screenshot in 2020, saying he did not reply to it.As the questioning continued, De Marco objected to the judge’s line of questioning, arguing that Cremona had repeatedly claimed to have bluffed to Melvin Theuma in the past.“These two lawyers don’t even have his number,” De Marco said, referring to Fenech’s lawyers.She warned that if the judge continued along the same line, she would request the dissolution of the jury, arguing that it would show the judge was not impartial.Judge Grima replied that it was clear someone was trying to cover things up and that the court had a duty to investigate.“It is clear Cremona is trying to protect someone,” the judge said, referring to his statement that he would “take the blame”.The judge instructed De Marco to formally enter her objection into the court record.Fenech denies charges of complicity in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and involvement in a criminal organisation.•