An attorney in former President Donald Trump’s orbit who testified in front of a Manhattan grand jury earlier this month believes that there has been a shift in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against the 45th president.
“Well, I think I got through to them, because [Monday] I understand they called back another witness by the name of David Pecker, who used to run the National Enquirer,” Costello, a former Michael Cohen attorney, told Newsmax on Tuesday. “Basically, what they’re doing is really gerrymandering this,” he said of Bragg’s probe into Trump.
Costello said he had represented Cohen, himself a former Trump lawyer, and told reporters last week that he does not believe Cohen is a credible witness against Trump. In response, Cohen told MSNBC that Costello never represented him and disputed key claims he made to the press.
Bragg is investigating Trump for alleged hush-money payments to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges and other charges, allegedly arranged the payments to Daniels, although Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
“So the fact that they had him in here once before and then brought him back after I dealt with Michael Cohen tells me—and, of course, I don’t understand this, I don’t know this for a fact, but this is my speculation—that they’re moving away from Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels and trying to focus their investigation on the National Enquirer’s purchasing the story of Mrs. [Karen] McDougal and then not publishing it,” Costello claimed.
Cohen, he alleged, “is an example of a person who lies again and again and again.” Adding further, he said, “Absolutely a guy who cannot be trusted.”
Costello was referring to reported allegations of a non-disclosure agreement involving McDougal, a former model, and Pecker. Unconfirmed reports claimed that Trump offered her hush money to cover up an alleged affair in the early 2000s, which the former president has denied.
The Epoch Times has contacted Bragg’s office for comment on whether Pecker testified before the grand jury.
Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that would be indicted by Bragg’s office in connection to the case. A letter issued by Bragg’s office last week in response to demands made by House GOP lawmakers said that the former president made a false statement by claiming he would be arrested.
“And what they’re investigating now is he bought a story involving the McDougal lady and then never published the story,” Costello continued during the Newsmax interview. “So, apparently, Mr. Pecker admitted with the federal authorities when he got a non-prosecution agreement that he should have filed with the Federal Election Commission, the FEC.”
But Costello, who had represented former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said Bragg’s case is still doomed.
“If Pecker did anything wrong—and I’m not suggesting that he did—it would be a federal violation, not a state law violation,” Costello continued. “I don’t know why they’re even looking at that.”
Arrest Claims
A lawyer for Trump, Joe Tacopina, told NBC News over the weekend that Trump made the comment about his pending arrest because he was reacting to news reports. He denied that Trump fabricated the claim.
“He didn’t make it up, he was reacting to a lot of leaks coming out of the district attorney’s office,” Tacopina said. “And then there was of course a lot of rumors regarding the arraignment being the next day. So I think he just assumed, based on those leaks, that was what was going to happen.”
Trump has placed the reports about a possible arrest at the center of his 2024 campaign, frequently posting about Bragg and how he’s being unfairly targeted for political purposes.
“How do you indict an innocent man, a former very successful President who is now running and leading in the polls, that every legal scholar, and virtually every ‘hater,’ says, ‘Don’t do it, there is no case here?’ This is what happens in Third World countries which sadly, the USA is rapidly becoming!” he wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
