During Tuesday’s proceedings in the New York v. Trump case, the atmosphere was charged with anticipation as Robert Costello, a key witness for the defense, took the stand for a second day. His testimony could potentially dismantle the prosecution’s claims against former President Donald Trump, as suggested by Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley during his appearance on “The Story.”
Turley, who has an eye for pivotal legal strategies, believes that Costello’s involvement in the case is a game-changer. “Well, I put on social media this morning from the courtroom that I thought that there was an interesting line of questions coming from the defense that seemed to me like they were laying the foundation to call Costello because the biggest problem with calling Costello is that there’s an email which refers to Giuliani wanting to create a back channel to Cohen. And that meant that if you called Costello, that would open up that aspect of the case to the prosecutors,” Turley explained.
“So my view is that even if there’s a conviction, it would have to be overturned at this point. But this is a man running for president. Quite frankly, Costello is a kill shot witness,” Turley said. “You only call him if you want to kill shot at trial, that you feel that you need to make sure this doesn’t result in a conviction, even though I think it’s going very well for the defense. And it went very well today for the defense.”
The trial, which has captured national attention, revolves around accusations that Trump was complicit in hush money payments, a narrative primarily pushed forward by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer. Cohen’s credibility has been a major point of contention, as he has previously pled guilty to charges that could affect his reliability as a witness.
Costello, once an advisor to Cohen, provided a starkly different perspective, affirming under oath that Cohen repeatedly assured him Trump was not involved in the payments. “I swear to God Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump,” were Cohen’s words to Costello, a statement that could tilt the scales in favor of the defense.
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