Michael Cohen (left) pictured in 2018 (Yana Paskova/Getty Images), Robert Costello (right) as seen during an appearance on Fox News’ ‘Life, Liberty & Levin’ on May 19, 2024 (Fox News/screengrab)
The morning after he angered Donald Trump’s hush-money trial judge by making comments on the witness stand and glaring at the jurist, an attorney called as a defense witness was grilled by prosecutors about his 2018 emails after the feds raided ex-Trump fixer Michael Cohen’s properties.
Robert Costello was called as a witness by the defense in an attempt to push back on Cohen’s testimony about a “pressure campaign” involving Trump allies after the feds raided the disgraced fixer’s home, office, and hotel room in connection with tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations — crimes Cohen later admitted he committed ahead of the 2016 election at the direction of “Individual-1,” Trump, to cover up the defendant’s sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen not only went to federal prison for these crimes, but also separately admitted he lied to Congress about a Moscow Trump Tower negotiations timeline out of loyalty to Trump.
Unsurprisingly, the defense has said these facts about Cohen make him a witness no one should believe, but Cohen countered by pointing to email receipts.
After the raids, as stories from several years ago showed, Costello sent Cohen an email highlighting his ties to Rudy Giuliani and attempting to reassure Cohen as his federal criminal predicament worsened.
In the email, Costello reminded Cohen that he had “friends in high places.” Years ago, Costello claimed that was merely “a tongue-in-cheek reference to a Garth Brooks song” —”Friends in Low Places” — not in indirect way of dangling a future pardon to Cohen through a “backchannel” to Trump via Costello and Giuliani.
“‘Sleep Well tonight, you have friends in high places’ was a tongue-in-cheek reference to a Garth Brooks song, to a client whose state of mind was highly disturbed and had suggested to us that he was suicidal,” Costello explained previously. “We were simply trying to be decent human beings. There is no hidden message.”
But prosecutor Susan Hoffinger of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office emphasized in court on Tuesday that emails showed Costello was well aware of the need to publicly avoid the appearance that Trump and Giuliani were calling the shots.
More Law&Crime coverage: Rudy Giuliani says it’s a ‘real shame’ Robert Costello sued him for unpaid legal bills
“Our issue is to get Cohen on the right page without giving the appearance that we are following instructions from Giuliani or the President,” Costello said in one email, according to Lawfare’s Anna Bower.
June 13, 2018, email from Costello to Cohen: “My friend has communicated to me that he is meeting with his client this evening and he added that if there is anything you wanted to convey…my friend will bring it up for discussion this evening.”
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) May 21, 2024
Susan Hoffinger resumes the cross of Costello. Hoffinger confirms Cohen hired another lawyer instead of Costello. Hoffinger reads email where Cohen requests Costello to stop sending correspondence because Costello does not represent him. #trump
— Terri Austin (@Terridaustin) May 21, 2024
Costello testified on direct that his only interest was Cohen. Costelllo wrote email that Cohen is “playing with the most powerful man.”
Note: Implication here is that Costello was acting on behalf of the president.
— Terri Austin (@Terridaustin) May 21, 2024
In another email, Hoffinger said, Costello said “What should I say to this a—-hole?” — referring to Cohen and bashing him for “playing with the most powerful man on the planet.”
The prosecutor said that this demonstrated Costello did care about Trump’s interests, despite what Costello testified about viewing Cohen as a client and only acting in that capacity.
Then Hoffinger displays an email from Costello to his law partner.
Costello says that Cohen is slow playing “us and the President…What should I say to this asshole? He’s playing with the most powerful man on the planet.”
This email speaks for itself?
Yes, it does.
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) May 21, 2024
Costello first made waves Monday with his conduct in court, setting off Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and sparking a surreal exchange between Merchan and the witness after the judge heard him say “Jeeze” in response to a ruling.
The judge, exasperated by Costello’s commentary, shot back: “Excuse me?”
Merchan then ordered the courtroom cleared and proceeded to dress down Costello, in an exchange recorded for posterity in a transcript.
Jury excused. Judge told witness he wants to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. “You dont say jeez and you don’t give me a side eye if you disagree with my decision.”
Judge asks witness if he is staring him down. Judge dismisses the entire courtroom!!! #trump
— Terri Austin (@Terridaustin) May 20, 2024
“I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom,” Merchan said. “Okay. So when there is a witness on the stand, if you don’t like my ruling, you don’t say ‘Jeeze,’ okay. And then you don’t say ‘strike it,’ because I’m the only one that can strike testimony in the courtroom.”
“Do you understand that?” Merchan asked.
“I understand,” Costello answered, before the judge again called him out.
“Okay. And then if you don’t like my ruling, you don’t give me side eye and you don’t roll your eyes,” the judge said, asking Costello twice if he understood that.
“I understand that. I understand what you are saying,” Costello confirmed.
Next, when the judge called for the jury to be brought back in, he asked the witness: “Are you staring me down right now?”
“No. I’m just wondering how —,” Costello attempted to say.
Moments later, Costello asked if he could “say something.”
Merchan sharply refused to allow it.
“No. No. This is not a conversation,” the judge said.
After court resumed Monday, Costello denied pressuring Cohen to keep him from flipping on Trump and reiterated he had only treated Cohen like a client whose best interest was at the top of his mind.
As recently as this last weekend, Costello made an appearance on Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin” in the capacity as Cohen’s “former legal adviser,” claiming that Cohen decided to pay off Stormy Daniels “on his own.”
“That’s what he said,” Costello said, claiming that Cohen said Trump had no knowledge of a scheme the former president is on trial for in Manhattan.
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