A grand jury heard from a potential final witness Monday in the investigation into Donald Trump as law enforcement officials accelerated security preparations in advance of a possible indictment and as fellow Republicans staked out positions in a criminal probe expected to shake up the 2024 presidential race.
The testimony from Robert Costello, a lawyer who had a falling out with the key government witness in the Trump investigation, came as the grand jury that for months has been investigating Trump over hush money paid to a porn star during his 2016 campaign appeared to be wrapping up its work.
Costello had provided Cohen, himself a lawyer, legal services several years ago. In a news conference after his grand jury appearance, he told reporters that he had come forward to provide exculpatory information about Trump and to make clear that he did not believe Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes and served time in prison, could be trusted.
The testimony came two days after Trump said he expected to face criminal charges and urged supporters to protest his possible arrest. In a series of social media posts through the weekend, the former Republican president criticized the New York investigation, directing particularly hostile rhetoric toward Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
For several months, it was unclear whether Cohen, a longtime lawyer and fixer for the Trump Organization who once boasted that he would "take a bullet" for his boss, would remain loyal to the president. In the years since, Costello, a veteran New York attorney, has represented Trump allies including his former political strategist Steve Bannon and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some kind of alleged affair," DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City. "I can't speak to that."
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