Costello will take the stand again Tuesday after being admonished Monday by Judge Juan Merchan.
Topline
Attorney Robert Costello continued his testimony Tuesday at former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, as he seeks to discredit ex-attorney Michael Cohen’s testimony about a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels—but his testimony Monday was overshadowed by Judge Juan Merchan admonishing him on the stand.Key Facts
Costello is a longtime attorney and former federal prosecutor, best known for serving as Rudy Giuliani’s personal attorney on such matters as the House January 6 Committee’s investigation and the 2020 election criminal investigations by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
According to Cohen’s testimony, Costello approached Cohen after news of the ex-attorney’s $130,000 payment to Daniels became public in 2018 and the government started investigating Cohen, offering to represent him and use his ties to Giuliani—who represented Trump at the time—to serve as a backchannel to communicate with the then-president.
Costello did some legal work for Cohen at the time, but Cohen testified he never told Costello the full truth about the hush money payment—namely, that Trump was allegedly aware of the scheme—because he did not fully trust Costello.
Costello hit back at Cohen in testimony to a GOP-led congressional committee last week ahead of his trial appearance, where he claimed Cohen lied under oath during his testimony and recounted a 2018 meeting he had with the then-attorney in which, Costello claimed, Cohen was “absolutely manic.
