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The news source said Costello said Cohen was suicidal at the time and had been told he could get a deal from federal officials if he gave them dirt on the former president.
“Cohen told me every time, ‘I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump,'” Costello’s prepared notes say. “I think Cohen said this at least ten times, because I kept coming back to it in different ways.”
He kept telling them, “Guys, remember this: I’ll do whatever the F… Costello remembered the conversation. “I have to do this, and I will never go to jail again,” he said. At one point, I even told Cohen, ‘Michael, now is the time to tell the truth and work with us if you want your court problems to go away.’
Once more, Cohen would say, “I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.”
Costello was able to get a release of attorney-client privilege when Cohen hired new lawyers and told the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan a different story. Then, the news source said, he gave federal investigators memos that were previously secret but directly contradicted Cohen’s new version of what happened.
ALERT! Major Water Restrictions In Effect!
Costello said that the proof was so strong that federal prosecutors chose not to charge Trump based on what Cohen said.
According to Costello’s prepared opening statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office never worked with Cohen again after that because they knew for sure that he was a habitual liar and an unreliable witness. “That office decided not to charge President Trump with anything.” Clearly the right choice. The New York District Attorney’s Office, on the other hand, is a different story.
On the other hand, Georgetown law professor Jonathan Turley said on Tuesday that even after reading Cohen’s evidence, he still can’t figure out what crime Trump is said to have committed.
Cohen went to court to speak in the case about a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He had already been found guilty of lying to Congress and was facing more charges of perjury.
Before Cohen’s hearing, New York Judge Juan Merchan turned down the prosecutors’ request to show a severance agreement between Cohen and Allen Weisselberg, a former executive at the Trump Organization.
“Before he testified, it was very interesting to see how hard they tried to get the accountant to agree.” As Turley talked about Weisselberg’s severance deal on Fox News, he said, “That was such an obvious and dishonest move by the prosecutors.”
If this judge didn’t stop this case or at least make the prosecution be clear about it, you have to think if he is having second thoughts. The prosecutor could call that accountant at any time, so it was clear that bringing up that agreement was meant to make the jury think that they have strong evidence but can’t show it because of this agreement. “That’s not true at all, so Merchan was right when she said I’m not going to let you do that,” Turley went on.
“This case is like a Potemkin village,” he said. “They are calling into question things that aren’t in evidence while giving the jury hints about things that are in evidence,” Turley said. “Things to remember are that when the prosecution finishes its case, the defense will rise and make a standard motion for a directed verdict, saying that there is not enough evidence to support a crime in this case.”
