Who is Robert Costello? Trump Pulls Out a Last-Minute Witness

Former President Donald Trump, facing the threat of an indictment in the Manhattan District Attorney’s probe into whether a 2016 hush payment violated campaign finance laws, is set to pull out a last-minute witness in Robert Costello on Monday.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating the $130,000 hush payment allegedly made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels from Trump’s 2016 campaign, which was allegedly made in relation to an affair denied by Trump. The ex-President has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the investigation as a politically-motivated witch hunt.

Costello—who once served as a legal adviser to Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen, a key witness in Bragg’s case against Trump—has been called by Trump’s legal team to testify before the Manhattan grand jury, which is expected to soon vote on whether to indict Trump, on Monday, according to a report from The New York Times.

Details about Costello’s potential testimony remained unknown Monday morning, according to the Times. Costello confirmed that he plans to testify to several news outlets. His testimony comes after Trump declined to testify before the grand jury himself following an offer from Bragg.

Above, an image of former President Donald Trump speaking in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 15, 2022, is seen alongside an inset of Robert Costello, who is expected to testify before a Manhattan grand jury on Monday as Trump faces the threat of a potential indictment.

Costello served as a legal adviser to Cohen prior to 2019, when Cohen declined to formally retain him, around the same time that Cohen turned against Trump after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, according to the Times. Cohen has also waived attorney-client privilege with Costello, thus allowing him to testify about past conversations.

Costello once asked Trump’s attorneys if he would consider pardoning Cohen, the Times reported.

The report of special counsel Robert Mueller, who looked into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, indicated that Costello reassured Cohen about a “very very positive” conversation with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and that “you have friends in high places.”

Since then, Costello has represented high-profile Trump allies including his former adviser Steve Bannon and Giuliani.

Costello represented Bannon after he faced charges of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the Select Committee Investigating the January 6th attack at the United States Capitol.

He has also litigated investigative matters for Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, according to his biography for Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP.

His anticipated testimony is likely to involve attacks against the credibility of statements made by Cohen, according to the Associated Press.

Trump Celebrates Costello’s Possible Testimony

Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to celebrate Costello’s possible testimony.

“Just reported that the most important witness to go before the New York City grand jury, a highly respected lawyer who once represented convicted felon, jailbird, and serial fake storyteller and liar, Michael Cohen, will be doing so tomorrow afternoon,” Trump wrote Sunday. “The information he will present will supposedly be conclusive and irrefutable! Witch hunt!!!”

Trump has maintained his innocence in the case. Over the weekend, he wrote that he believed he would be arrested on Tuesday over the case, calling on his supporters to “protest.” While the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has signaled the investigation is coming to a close, they have not confirmed a date when Trump would be indicted.

Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina previously said there is no legal basis for the case, telling the Associated Press, “To me, it’s much ado about nothing. It’s just another example of them weaponizing the justice system against him. And it’s sort of unfair.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment.