Cohen’s Ex-Lawyer Alleges He Lied During Trump Trial

Accusations flew on Wednesday as Michael Cohen’s former lawyer claimed he committed perjury during his testimony in former President Donald Trump’s New York trial the day before.

Robert Costello, a longtime criminal defense attorney, testified before a House Weaponization Subcommittee, refuting Cohen’s claims that Costello coerced him into silence about Trump in 2018.

“I read Michael Cohen’s testimony from yesterday’s trial in New York on the way down on the train, and virtually every statement he made about me was another lie,” Costello told the panel, as reported by the Washington Examiner. “The story he told yesterday was that Rudy Giuliani and I were somehow conspiring to try and keep him quiet, to try and keep him from flipping … and that’s ridiculous.”

Costello represented Cohen for a brief period starting in April 2018 during a Justice Department investigation. He recounted his experience as Cohen’s counsel to the subcommittee, noting Cohen’s desperation to avoid prison.

“I will do whatever the F I have to do,” Costello quoted Cohen as saying. “I will never spend one day in jail.”

Cohen, seeking an “escape route,” allegedly confided in Costello about considering jumping off a hotel roof before their first meeting at the Loews Regency Hotel in Manhattan.

Costello, with 50 years of legal experience including working at the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, had not been officially retained or paid by Cohen, according to The New York Times.

He advised Cohen to provide incriminating information about Trump to the U.S. attorney’s office, but Cohen claimed he had no evidence against Trump.

After pleading guilty in 2018 on various charges, Cohen cooperated with prosecutors and implicated Trump. Costello alleged that he warned the Manhattan District Attorney about Cohen’s dishonesty, but his concerns were dismissed.

Costello maintained that he could substantiate Cohen’s lies with evidence and corroborating witnesses. He emphasized that Cohen misrepresented emails and text messages to fit his narrative.