Michael Cohen, ex-personal attorney to Donald Trump, said his testimony was not needed on Monday as a rebuttal witness after the Manhattan grand jury investigating the former president over the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels heard testimony from a pro-Trump lawyer.
“I did not,” Cohen said when asked by MSNBC host Ari Melber whether he testified in front of the grand jury on Monday. “I was asked to be a potential rebuttal witness. The prosecutors determined that my rebuttal was not necessary, and so I was released.”
Robert Costello, a former legal adviser of Cohen’s, had appeared before the grand jury at the request of Trump’s lawyers in an attempt to stave off a possible indictment in the probe over the payment made to Daniels, an adult film performer, ahead of the 2016 election.
Costello, who had a falling out with Cohen years ago, appeared as an exculpatory witness for Trump, according to a letter to prosecutors obtained by ABC News. He was expected to testify that Cohen, who is the key witness in the case, repeatedly told Costello that he was unaware of any criminal behavior by Trump.
Trump made headlines when he announced over the weekend that he expected to be indicted and arrested as soon as Tuesday in connection with the case, which would be the first time a sitting or former president faced criminal charges.
Cohen also pushed back against a claim Costello made to reporters that Cohen was set to testify in front of the grand jury again on Wednesday.
“Very much like most of everything that came out of his mouth, he lacks for any sense of veracity here,” Cohen said. “There’s no accuracy to his statement. I have not been asked to come back on Wednesday.”
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