What to Know
- A lawyer allied with Donald Trump testified before a New York grand jury Monday
- Such testimony could give the Republican former president an indirect opportunity to make a case he shouldn’t face criminal charges over hush money paid during his 2016 campaign
- Robert Costello was asked to appear by the Manhattan district attorney’s office after he said he had information raising questions about the credibility of a key witness in the probe, Michael Cohen
The Manhattan district attorney's office gave a Donald Trump ally -- a former lawyer who once represented Michael Cohen -- the chance to testify before a New York grand jury Monday.
Robert Costello was asked to appear by DA Alvin Bragg 's office after he claimed he had information undercutting the credibility of Cohen, a key witness in the investigation, a source familiar with the matter said. The lawyer's testimony could give the former president an indirect opportunity to make a case that he shouldn't face criminal charges over hush money paid during his 2016 campaign.
With a past waiver of attorney-client privilege, Costello came out swinging, hammering Cohen as a liar and a problematic witness.
“He’s totally unreliable,” Costello said outside the Manhattan courthouse Monday. “You think a guy whose mindset right at that moment is, ‘I’ll lie, cheat, steal, shoot somebody — whatever it takes, I’m not going to jail.’ Well, he went to jail. And now he’s on the revenge tour.”
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Costello told reporters that he had come forward to provide exculpatory information about Trump and to make clear that he did not believe Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes and served time in prison, could be trusted.
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“Out of 321 emails, they cherry-picked six emails to ask me about. And of course they took them out of context.”
A source familiar with what Costello had prepared to tell the grand jury said the testimony includes calling Cohen a liar and a convicted perjurer, as well as a notorious embellisher of stories. According to the source, Costello planned to say Cohen wanted to show he could take care of the Stormy Daniels situation and believed he would be rewarded down the line for doing so. Costello also was set to tell the grand jury that Cohen told him he was furious with Trump at a meeting in February 2019, and that he blames Trump for his personal and legal difficulties and wants him to pay.
“I’ve listened to Michael Cohen stand in front of the courthouse and say things that are directly contrary to what he said to us. My obligation is to bring the truth to both the district attorney and to Trump’s lawyers. That’s exactly what I did," Costello added.
Cohen also allegedly told Costello he was suicidal in 2018 amid his own legal woes, the source said. Each of those expected statements seeks to support the defense position Cohen had a vendetta against Trump and that's why he agreed to testify in the Daniels case. For his part, Cohen has said he has no such ill will toward the former president.
Responding to Costello’s claims on MSNBC later Monday, Cohen said that Costello was never his lawyer and “he lacks any sense of veracity.”
Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, dismissed such allegations.
"We have facts that Michael Cohen has presented and will continue to present as indisputably true. No argument that he wrote those checks. No argument that the Southern District prosecutors accused him and found him -- as a matter of fact, to have instructed Michael to do what he did," Davis said.
He accused "everybody else" defending Trump of using "everything other than facts."
Costello's testimony came two days after Trump said he expected to face criminal charges and urged supporters to protest his possible arrest. In a series of social media posts through the weekend, the Republican former president criticized the investigation, directing hostile rhetoric toward Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
It was unclear whether Costello’s testimony was able to change the course of a grand jury probe that seems close to concluding. Cohen was initially expected to have a chance to testify again by way of a rebuttal, but the former Trump ally said he left the grand jury Monday after it was determined by the lead prosecutor that rebuttal was not necessary.
”Mr. Cohen was available for over two hours today, but we are pleased to report Mr. Cohen was not needed. Once again we repeat — the facts and documents speak for themselves," Davis, his attorney, said in a statement.
It was also not clear when the grand jury might vote on charges, though several sources familiar with the matter said no developments are expected Tuesday; the next scheduled grand jury date is Wednesday, they said, which is the earliest we may learn more as to what comes next.
The Manhattan DA's office so far has not commented on timing or on any statements Costello made outside the grand jury room Monday evening.
As of Monday night, there were no plans or requests for Trump — who has been at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — to travel to NYC this week, according to several sources.
Costello briefly acted as a legal adviser to Cohen after the FBI raided Cohen's home and apartment in 2018. At the time, Cohen was being investigated for both tax evasion and for payments he helped orchestrate in 2016 to buy the silence of two women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump.
For several months, it was unclear whether Cohen, a longtime lawyer and fixer for the Trump Organization who once boasted that he would “take a bullet” for his boss, would remain loyal to the president.
Cohen ultimately decided to plead guilty in connection with the payments to Daniels and model Karen McDougal, which he said were directed by Trump. Since then, he has been a vociferous Trump critic, testifying before Congress and then to the Manhattan grand jury.
As to why federal prosecutors didn't pursue the case if Cohen's allegations were so strong, Davis said he doesn't know.
"I don't know the answer to why they passed up on it, but I will tell your viewers, don't believe me. Don't even believe Michael Cohen. Believe federal prosecutors who worked for Donald Trump in 2018 when they wrote a memo to the district court and they said Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen to pay illegal hush money," Davis said. "Those are federal prosecutors. And they describe the crime as being a serious crime, undermining our democracy."
Trump, who has denied having sex with either Daniels or McDougal, has castigated Cohen as a liar. Costello broke with Cohen before he pleaded guilty, after it became clear he was no longer in Trump’s camp.
In the years since, Costello, a veteran New York attorney, has represented Trump allies including his former political strategist Steve Bannon and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
