renewed his Brady claim in his state habeas application, but the state habeas court similarly rejected his argument on the merits.[375] For the reasons discussed below, the Court finds that Ortiz has not shown that he is entitled to relief under the AEDPA.
A. Hector Hernandez's Trial Testimony Regarding a Purported Deal with Prosecutors in Exchange for His Testifying Against Ortiz
Ortiz's claim arises from an exchange, on cross-examination, between Hector Hernandez and defense counsel Jaime Gandara. Because the Court finds that Ortiz's claim is best evaluated in context, it sets forth the relevant portion of the record in full:
MR. GANDARA: Before you were arrested in August of 1997, before you were placed in tank 430
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, sir.
MR. GANDARA: - you were outside in the free world, right?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes.
MR. GANDARA: And Jerry Garcia was outside in the free world, right?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, he was.
MR. GANDARA: And you got arrested and put in the tank and charged with possession of heroin, right?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes.
MR. GANDARA: And this is while you were on probation, right?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, sir.
MR. GANDARA: And after you'd already been back from boot camp, correct?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, sir.
*711 MR. GANDARA: And those charges, you've pleaded guilty or they're still pending?
MR. HERNANDEZ: I did not plead guilty. They're not pending.
MR. GANDARA: They've been dismissed, haven't they?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, sir.
MR. GANDARA: They've been dismissed in exchange for your testifying here?
MR. HERNANDEZ: No, sir.
MR. GANDARA: They dropped them just because? They dropped them just because? Is that what you're going to tell this jury?
MR. LOCKE: I'm going to object. This is speculation.
MR. GANDARA: They dropped them just because?
THE COURT: I'm going to overrule. I think he's entitled to speculate at this point.
MR. HERNANDEZ: I couldn't afford to go to prison.
MR. GANDARA: They dropped them because you made a deal to testify because you didn't want to go to prison, right? Right?
MR. HERNANDEZ: I was not made a deal, sir.
MR. GANDARA: They dropped the charges, didn't they?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, they did.
MR. GANDARA: And they told you they were going to do it, didn't they?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, sir.
MR. GANDARA: So that you could come to court to testify, right? Right? Tell us. Right? All you've got to do is say it. You swore to tell the truth a minute ago. Just say it. Say it for us.
MR. HERNANDEZ: I was not made a deal.
MR. GANDARA: You were not made a deal? They dropped the charges?
MR. HERNANDEZ: Yes, they did drop the charges.
MR. GANDARA: And you were told to say in court that you didn't have a deal, weren't you? You were told to come to court and to say, I don't have a deal. They told you that, didn't they? Didn't they?
MR. HERNANDEZ: No, sir.
MR. GANDARA: Do you remember telling your lawyer over the phone, the