Attorney Bob Costello turned into Michael Cohen during a House hearing Wednesday, hours after Trump’s former fixer called him “sneaky” and accused him of trying to set up a “backchannel” with then-President Donald Trump.
“I read Michael Cohen’s testimony in the trial yesterday in New York while I was on a train, and virtually every statement he made about me is another lie,” Costello told a House committee on the “militarization” of the government. .
The comments came alongside a fiery statement Costello issued, where he criticized the “legal war” he said was being waged against Trump, and wrote about meetings with prosecutors alongside Cohen.
Cohen ‘took a foolish step by lying that he had evidence that Rudy Giuliani and I had conspired to obstruct justice by offering him a pardon to keep his mouth shut about Donald Trump. “That was totally false and meaningless,” Costello said.
And he went after Cohen’s motive, in a possible preview of what Trump’s legal team has in store for him in a second day of cross-examination scheduled for Thursday in Manhattan criminal court.
Costell0 is a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. He has represented Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, suing both for unpaid legal fees.
“Now, after going to jail, Michael Cohen is on a revenge tour because he blames Donald Trump for the loss of his law license and the fact that he went to jail,” Costello said.
He said a desperate Cohen said he would “do whatever the IF had to do.” “I will never spend a day in jail.”
Democratic House Rep. Dan Goldman accused the veteran attorney of witness tampering by going public with his explosive allegations even while Cohen was on the stand (he is due back in court Thursday as the prosecution’s star witness in the case ).
“You know that coming here, outside the courtroom while the witness is on the stand, to try to impugn his credibility and his testimony is jury tampering,” Goldman fumed. ‘You know it’s unethical. You know you are trying to discredit a current witness in an ongoing trial.
Attorney Todd Blanche got Cohen to admit on the stand that he wanted to shorten his sentence.
It says Cohen denied having any information about Trump during their first two-hour meeting, after the FBI raided his apartment and office.
‘Every time Cohen told me, “I swear to God, Bob, I have nothing on Donald Trump.” Cohen must have said this at least ten times because I kept coming back to it from different angles. Cohen kept saying, “Guys, I want you to remember that I will do whatever I have to do, I will never spend a day in jail.”
Cohen testified that Costello wanted a ‘back channel’ through him to Trump that went through Rudy Giuliani, an old friend of Costello.
Costello said Cohen told him that Trump had no knowledge of Stormy Daniels’ payment. The porn star said she had an affair with Trump and received a $130,000 payment facilitated by Cohen weeks before the 2016 election.
Costello also told Congress that Cohen told him he made the Stormy Daniels payment deal without Trump’s knowledge. Prosecutors have sought to establish otherwise through testimony from Cohen and other members of the Trump Organization.
‘When asked if Trump had any knowledge of this, Cohen told me no. When asked if Cohen got the $130,000 from Trump or any entity or friend of Trump, Cohen again said no. When asked if this was with Cohen’s own money, Cohen said no,” Costello wrote.
Cohen testified that he did not trust Costello and considered him “shrewd.”
Costello has said there is a possibility he could be called as a witness in the Trump case.
But his testimony before the Republican-led committee brings it to light without the need for cross-examination.
The emails presented as evidence reveal Costello’s repeated efforts to demonstrate his access to Giuliani, who Costello said was communicating with then-President Trump about the matter.
‘I’m sure you saw the news that Rudy is joining Trump’s legal team. “I told you about my relationship with Rudy, which could be very helpful to you,” Costello wrote to Cohen on April 19, trying to capitalize on the connection.
Although Cohen said he had not reached an agreement to retain Costello, an email sent a few days later by Costello states that the back channel is now open.
‘Michael, I just talked to Rudy Giuliani and told him I was on your team. Rudy was excited and said this couldn’t be a better situation for the President or for you. He asked me if it was okay to call the president and Jay Sekulow and I said, okay,” he wrote, mentioning another Trump lawyer.