Who Is Michael Costello? Trump Ally Testified Right Before Grand Jury Paused Proceedings

Topline

The criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump in New York City screeched to a halt this week after an attorney named Robert Costello provided testimony to the grand jury that sought to undercut the credibility of a key witness, Michael Cohen—raising questions about the future of the legally perilous case.

Attorney Robert Costello leaves in a car after testifying at the Manhattan district attorney Alvin … [+] L. Bragg’s office in New York City on March 20, 2023. (Photo by DIANE DESOBEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Costello, a former legal advisor to Michael Cohen and longtime Trump ally, told reporters he attacked Cohen’s credibility to the grand jury on Monday as it weighs charges against Trump related to hush-money payments Cohen made to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her alleged affair with Trump.

Costello, who appeared before the jury at the behest of Trump’s lawyers, according to the New York Times, said Cohen admitted to him that he made the payments to Daniels on his own volition, contradicting Cohen’s claims that Trump directed him to make the deal and raising questions about a key element in the case against Trump.

Costello, a longtime friend of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, began advising Cohen in 2018 and unsuccessfully sought to serve as a liaison between Trump’s team and Cohen as federal investigators were ramping up their investigation into the hush-money payments, and as Cohen’s relationship with Trump and Giuliani began to sour.

Cohen and Costello grew to distrust each other when Trump’s team began to implicate Cohen in the media, The New York Times reported, citing interviews with Costello, along with emails, text messages and documents exchanged between the two men that show the relationship exploded when Cohen hired an associate of Trump critic and former FBI Director James Comey to represent him.

Costello, a longtime Manhattan criminal lawyer and partner at Davidhoff, Hutcher and Citron, has represented a string of high-profile clients, including key figures in Trump’s orbit.

Giuliani hired Costello in 2019 to represent him in the federal probe of his dealings with Ukraine, and he also represented Steve Bannon in investigations into his role in the January 6 Capitol riots and a border-wall funding scheme.

News Peg

The grand jury will reportedly not take up any additional matters related to the Trump case this week, according to the Washington Post, as the Manhattan District Attorney considers whether to call Cohen back for a third testimony or to call another witness to rebut Costello’s claims, CNN reported. Costello, calling Cohen a “serial liar,” told reporters on Monday he had “321 emails” to disprove Cohen’s claims that Trump directed him to make the payments to Daniels, but the jury “cherry-picked six e-mails to ask” him about. Trump celebrated Costello’s testimony, claiming he “put [Cohen] out to dry” and “made a great impression not only on the D.A.’s Office, but the grand jury itself,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, declaring “THE D.A. WILL DO THE RIGHT THING!”

Chief Critic

Cohen broadly denied Costello’s claims in an MSNBC interview on Monday, alleging that “so many things [Costello] said were untrue.” Cohen, whose lawyer said he was on standby as a rebuttal witness on Monday, said that Costello never formally represented him and that he never waived attorney-client privilege to Costello.

Contra

Trump and his legal team have raised Cohen’s own criminal record in claiming he lacks credibility as a witness. Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty in 2018 to five federal charges related to the Daniels scheme and pleaded guilty in a separate case of lying to Congress in its investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia.

Key Background

The Manhattan District Attorney’s case against Trump centers on whether Cohen made the payments to Daniels or did so at Trump’s direction. Cohen was reimbursed for the payments by the Trump Organization via contracts that falsely specified his services were for legal fees, federal prosecutors determined in their 2018 case against Cohen. Trump could face a misdemeanor charge of falsifying business records if Manhattan prosecutors can prove that he played a role in manufacturing the fraudulent contracts, legal experts have said. The charge could be elevated to a felony if it’s connected to a second crime, which would likely hinge on campaign finance violations since federal prosecutors determined previously that the payments were made to sway the results of the 2016 presidential election.

What To Watch For

The grand jury is scheduled to meet again on Monday, but the timing of a possible indictment remains unclear. The delay comes after Trump said without evidence on Truth Social on Tuesday that he would be arrested in the case.