Robert J. Costello

Robert Costello
Prosecutors introduced a new name at Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial on Tuesday: Robert J. Costello.
Mr. Costello is a lawyer, who once advised Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer and the prosecution’s star witness, acting as his back channel to Mr. Trump and the White House in 2018.
This role, which came by dint of Mr. Costello’s close ties to Mr. Trump’s legal team at the time, was mostly informal. Mr. Cohen never officially retained Mr. Costello or paid him a cent. But the prosecution spotlighted their communications to emphasize Mr. Trump’s broad influence over Mr. Cohen.
* How a Lawyer Became Cohen's Back Channel to Trump, The New York Times by Ben Protess, 14 May 2024 ( Robert J. Costello has said he relayed messages from Donald J. Trump’s legal team. The prosecution spotlighted these communications to emphasize Mr. Trump’s broad influence over Michael D. Cohen … )
* Robert J. Costello relayed messages to Michael D. Cohen telling him not to flip, Mr. Cohen said. But a web of alliances fell apart over ... 
Robert J. Costello specializes in Criminal and Commercial Litigation, Federal Investigations, and Administrative Law for the 
New York City law firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP.  Commercial and Criminal Litigation - Robert J. Costello https://dhclegal.com/attorneys/robert-j-costello/#:~:text=Robert%20J.%20Costello%20specializes%20in,of%20Davidoff%20Hutcher%20%26%20Citron%20LLP.
== 2023, march ==
* NBC, 2019: [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/robert-costello-testify-trump-grand-jury-hush-money-payment-rcna75668 :
* Cohen alleged that Trump directed him to pay the hush money for the “principal purpose of influencing” the 2016 presidential election. He said he will return to the district attorney’s office Monday to stand by as a rebuttal witness. Costello said Sunday that he never signed a retainer agreement. He also said Cohen waived the attorney-client privilege in 2019 — a move that shocked attorneys who became aware of it. Cohen, meanwhile, said Costello never represented him.
== may 2024 ==
* video: CNN's Kara Scannell describes the dramatic moment in the Trump hush money trial where Judge Juan Merchan briefly cleared the courtroom after a tense exchange with Costello over his behavior on the stand. cnn, 21st may 2024 
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