(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Disgraced lawyer Michael Cohen testified Tuesday in Manhattan court that he made hush-money payments to a porn star on behalf of Donald Trump—an action District Attorney Alvin Bragg says was intended to illegally influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
But a day later, Cohen’s own former attorney, Robert Costello, accused his ex-client of fabricating his allegations about making hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. Costello made this accusation while testifying to the House Weaponization Subcommittee.
#BREAKING: Michael Cohen's former attorney reveals huge news:
1. Michael Cohen didn't actually believe the Stormy Daniels allegation.
2. Cohen paid Stormy Daniels all on his own.
3. President Trump had nothing to do with it. pic.twitter.com/jPeuitMjTV
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) May 15, 2024
According to Costello, he was trying to get Cohen to flip on Trump in 2018, but Cohen said he had no information that Trump committed any crimes.
“I explained that if Cohen had truthful information that would implicate Donald Trump, I could get him out of his legal troubles by the end of the week, if he cooperated against Donald Trump,” Costello said Wednesday, explaining that he can talk about his private discussions with Cohen because he waved his attorney-client privilege when he cooperated against Trump.
“Cohen said to me: ‘I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.’ Cohen must have said this at least ten times because I kept coming back to it from different approaches. Cohen kept on saying: ‘Guys I want you to remember, I will do whatever the fuck I have to do, I will never spend one day in jail.’”
Cohen has testified in detail about how the former president was linked to all aspects of the hush money scheme, and prosecutors believe Cohen’s testimony is critical to their case. But their reliance on a witness with such a checkered past — he was disbarred, went to prison and separately pleaded guilty to lying about a Moscow real estate project on Trump’s behalf — could backfire, especially as Trump’s attorneys continue to cross-examine him.
Cohen was the prosecution’s last witness. It’s not clear whether Trump’s lawyers will call any witnesses or if Trump will testify in his own defense.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denies any of the sexual encounters happened. Trump’s attorneys last week asked the judge to declare a mistrial over testimony from a crucial witness, Stormy Daniels, who spoke about the alleged sexual encounter with Trump that prompted the hush money payment just weeks before the presidential election in 2016. Jurors saw Daniels on the witness stand for 7.5 hours over two days.
Judge Merchan refused to throw out the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
