Key lawyer to testify before Trump grand jury
A lawyer loyal to former President Trump is set to testify before a Manhattan grand jury Monday afternoon as the state’s case against the ex-commander-in-chief wraps up and Trump prepares to be arrested.
Lawyer Robert Costello is scheduled to appear before the jury around 2 p.m. and could be the final witness in the closed-door proceeding, barring any surprise additional testimony, including a potential “rebuttal’’ from a previous witness, sources said.
Allegedly at issue is whether Trump directed former lawyer and now-foe Michael Cohen to secretly pay hush money in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet the then-presidential candidate’s affair with her.
As part of its investigation, the FBI raided Cohen’s Manhattan pad and office in 2018, and Costello briefly advised the ex-Trump lawyer at the time.
Costello split from Cohen when he realized Trump’s former lawyer had turned against The Donald.
If the indictment to arrest Trump comes down this week — as the former president has said he expects — “Trump would surrender in Florida and fly to New York to be arraigned,’’ a source close to the ex-president told The Post on Monday.
Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and repeatedly blasted the probe as nothing more than a political “witch hunt’’ as he mounts another bid for the White House.
But Cohen has claimed Trump directed him to make the $130,000 payout to Daniels and aimed to cover it up.
Authorities have said the money was essentially an illegal, undocumented “gift’’ to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Cohen previously pleaded guilty to his role in the case and other crimes and served a little more than three years behind bars.
He has already testified before the grand jury.
Costello would presumably try to knock down Cohen’s testimony when appearing Monday.