Former President Donald Trump praised recent reports that a lawyer who briefly acted as a legal adviser to Michael Cohen is expected to testify on Monday before a New York grand jury investigating whether to charge the former president over claims he paid hush money to an adult actress during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“Just reported that the most important witness to go before the New York City grand jury, a highly respected lawyer who once represented convicted felon, jailbird, and serial fake storyteller and liar, Michael Cohen, will be doing so tomorrow afternoon,” Trump wrote in a March 19 post on Truth Social.
“The information he will present will supposedly be conclusive and irrefutable! Witch hunt!!!” he continued.
According to several reports, one-time legal adviser Robert Costello is set to appear—at the request of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office—before a grand jury after saying he had information raising questions about the credibility of Cohen, a key witness in the investigation who previously testified that Trump directed him to arrange a $130,000 payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Costello, a veteran New York attorney who previously represented Trump allies such as his former political strategist Steve Bannon and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, confirmed to The Hill on March 19 that he will appear before the grand jury on Monday.
It was unclear whether Costello’s testimony has any potential to change the course of a grand jury probe that seems close to concluding.
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 tax evasion and allegedly helping to orchestrate the buying of the silence of two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.
Cohen ultimately decided to plead guilty concerning the payments to Daniels and model Karen McDougal, which he claimed were directed by Trump. Since then, he has been a vociferous Trump critic, testifying before Congress and to the Manhattan grand jury.
Trump has denied claims that he had an affair with either Daniels or McDougal and has censured Cohen as a liar. Costello broke relations with Cohen before he pleaded guilty and after it became clear, he was no longer in Trump’s camp.
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