Michael Cohen slammed as ex-advisor accuses him of lying, says fixer told him he 'had nothing' on Trump

WASHINGTON, DC: At a House hearing on Wednesday, May 15, lawyer Bob Costello launched a scathing counterattack against Michael Cohen, labeling Cohen's recent testimony as a "revenge tour" riddled with falsehoods and personal vendettas.

Costello's rebuttal comes in the wake of Cohen's accusations of attempting to establish a "back channel" to former President Donald Trump, which Cohen characterized as "shifty" during his trial on Tuesday, May 14, in New York.

Bob Costello's rebuttal against 

"I read Michael Cohen’s testimony from yesterday’s trial in New York on the way down on the train, and virtually every statement he made about me is another lie," Costello stated emphatically before the House committee on the "weaponization" of government.

The verbal barrage didn't end there. In a written statement released before his appearance before the committee, Costello condemned what he termed as " lawfare" deployed against Trump, denouncing Cohen's claims as "utter nonsense."

Cohen "took a foolish step by lying that he had evidence that Rudy Giuliani and I had conspired to obstruct justice by dangling a pardon for him to keep his mouth shut about Donald Trump. That was totally false and utter nonsense," Costello asserted, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

Costello went further, suggesting that Cohen's motivations were rooted in personal animosity, alleging that Cohen's current stance is driven by a desire for retribution against Trump for the loss of his law license and his incarceration.

"Now, after going to jail, Michael Cohen is on a revenge tour because he blames Donald Trump for the loss of his law license and the fact that he did go to jail," Costello declared.

The lawyer recounted his interactions with Cohen, highlighting Cohen's alleged desperation to avoid jail time. According to Costello, Cohen vehemently denied possessing any incriminating information on Trump during their meetings, repeatedly asserting his willingness to avoid incarceration at any cost.

"Each time Cohen said to me: 'I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump,'" Costello recounted. "Cohen must have said this at least ten times because I kept coming back to it from different approaches. Cohen kept on saying: 'Guys I want you to remember, I will do whatever the F… I have to do, I will never spend one day in jail'."

Costello also addressed Cohen's claims regarding the Stormy Daniels payoff, asserting that Cohen insisted Trump had no prior knowledge of the arrangement.

"When asked if Trump had any knowledge of this, Cohen told me no," Costello stated. "When asked whether Cohen got the $130,000 from Trump or any Trump entity or friend, Cohen again said no. When asked if this was from Cohen’s own money, Cohen said no."

In an email exchange introduced as evidence, Costello attempted to leverage his relationship with Rudy Giuliani, indicating communication between Giuliani and Trump. "I am sure you saw the news that Rudy is joining the Trump legal team. I told you my relationship with Rudy which could be very very useful for you," Costello wrote to Cohen on April 19th.

Despite Cohen's denial of retaining Costello's services, emails suggested a pre-existing back channel.

"Michael, I just spoke to Rudy Giuliani and told him I was on your team. Rudy was thrilled and said this could not be a better situation for the President or you. He asked me if it was okay to call the President and Jay Sekulow and I said, fine," he wrote, referring to another Trump lawyer.

Costello also highlighted Cohen's purported focus on Melania Trump, attributing Cohen's actions to a desire to shield her from embarrassment. 

"He focused on Melania Trump. He said I didn’t want to embarrass Melania Trump. He said that’s why I decided to take care of this on my own," he noted said after insisting Trump knew nothing about it. "He said I didn’t want anyone to know where I got this money. I didn’t want Melania to know. I didn’t want my wife to know."

During the hearing, Costello refuted accusations that he attempted to silence Cohen, insisting that he provided Cohen with an "escape route" to disclose truthful information. He emphasized that Cohen failed to deliver on this front.

"When they claim I was trying to shut up Michael Cohen, it's exactly the opposite. I was on that first day telling him, here's your escape route. If you have truthful information, but he didn't," said Costello. "The guy slow-played us. There’s no question about it."

Michael Cohen criticized on social media

Cohen was widely criticized on social media following Costello's testimony.

"Cohen lied? What a surprise!" one posted on X.

"It sounds like Cohen paid off Stormy and blamed Trump, doesn't it? I wonder if Cohen had any relations with Stormy," another wrote.

"They are using this habitual liar to further a case with no merit at all," someone else commented.

"The problem with Cohen is he's a perjurer so you can never tell when he's lying. Both sides can use that fact to discount anything he's ever said to anyone," another chimed in.

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