The Manhattan grand jury weighing whether to indict Donald Trump was wrapping up its work Monday with final witnesses, as the former president prepared to be arrested and law enforcement officials geared up for the possible fallout.
Robert Costello, a lawyer loyal to Trump, appeared before the jury mid-afternoon and may be the last witness in the closed-door proceeding, sources said. Disgraced former Trump lawyer and ex-con Michael Cohen was on hand at the courthouse to offer a “rebuttal,” but his testimony was not needed Monday, he told The Post.
At issue is whether Trump, 76, directed Cohen to secretly pay hush money in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about her and the then-presidential candidate’s affair.
Costello briefly advised Cohen when the ex-Trump lawyer was being raided by the FBI during the saga several years ago.
All signs were pointing to Trump being indicted in the upcoming days, with even the ex-commander-in-chief having already predicted he would be arrested Tuesday.
Federal and local authorities such as the US Secret Service and NYPD held a conference call to talk about security and the handling of an indictment of Trump, including how his actual arrest might be dealt with, ABC News reported.
Law-enforcement sources said Monday that all cops were told they have to report to the job in uniform Tuesday at 7 a.m.. Court officers added that traffic around the courthouse was being “restricted’’ Tuesday.
Experts said an indictment would hardly be surprising.
“Otherwise, I would have expected very different messaging from the district attorney’s office,’’ said former Manhattan federal prosecutor Sarah Krissoff of Day Pitney LLP, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s defiant public comments in his bid to prosecute Trump.
A source close to Trump told The Post on Monday that if an indictment comes down, “Trump would surrender in Florida and fly to New York to be arraigned.”
The former president would have to appear in Manhattan court in person as opposed to a virtual hearing.
“We are not doing criminal cases, including arraignments, virtually,” a state courts rep told The Post on Monday.
Costello became part of the case after the FBI raided Cohen’s Manhattan pad and office in 2018 amid the scandal.
He then split from Cohen when he realized Trump’s former lawyer had turned against The Donald.
Costello told reporters following his more than two hours of testimony before the grand jury that Cohen said he had masterminded the hush-money agreement all by himself.
“The heart of it is that Michael Cohen told us that he was approached by Stormy Daniels’ lawyer and Stormy Daniels had negative information that she wanted to put in a lawsuit against Trump,” Costello said, according to a clip in a tweet.
“So Michael Cohen decided on his own, that’s what he told us, on his own to see if he could take care of this,” Costello said without elaborating on anyone who was him at the time.
Costello said Cohen told him he drew up the payment agreement with Daniels’ lawyers and used a loan to cover it, saying he “wanted to keep this secret, even secret” from his wife.
Cohen has claimed Trump directed him to make the $130,000 payout to Daniels and aimed to cover it up.
The disgraced ex-lawyer said he paid Daniels personally but was reimbursed by the Trump Organization under the guise of legal expenses, prompting federal prosecutors to say the dough was falsely accounted for.
Authorities have said the money was essentially an illegal, undocumented “gift’’ to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The question for the grand jury is reportedly whether the crime of falsifying business records — bookkeeping fraud — was done in the commission of another crime, the alleged campaign-finance violation, the New York Times has said.
That situation would amount to a “low level” felony, the outlet added.
If Trump were found guilty of the rap, he could face up to four years behind bars.
The charge usually has a five-year statute of limitations for prosecution as a felony, but that restriction can be extended if the defendant repeatedly moves in and out of the state within the time period, as Trump did during his presidency, the Times said.
New York’s statute of limitations was also extended by more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump indicated Monday on his social-media platform Truth Social that the statute of limitations issue could be key to his defense.
“They are MANY years beyond the Statute of Limitations which, in this instance, is TWO YEARS. More importantly, THERE WAS NO CRIME!!!’’ the former prez wrote.
He added, “IT IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF MANHATTAN WHO IS BREAKING THE LAW BY USING THE FAKE AND FULLY DISCREDITED TESTIMONY (EVEN BY THE SDNY!) OF A CONVICTED LIAR, FELON AND JAILBIRD, MICHAEL COHEN, TO INCREDIBLY PERSECUTE, PROSECUTE, AND INDICT A FORMER PRESIDENT, AND NOW LEADING (BY FAR!) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, FOR A CRIME THAT DOESN’T EXIST. ALVIN BRAGG SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CRIME OF “INTERFERENCE IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.”
Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and repeatedly blasted the probe as nothing more than a political “witch hunt’’ as he mounts another bid for the White House.
Last week, he urged his supporters to “SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!” if he is arrested.
The potential for violence has prompted New York City, state, and federal law-enforcement groups to hold high-level closed-door meetings that continued into Monday to plan for the possible aftermath.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and a host of staffers held a roughly 35-minute Zoom call Monday afternoon in which Hizzoner and the commish stressed “there’s no credible threats and there’s nothing that people should do to change their behavior or patterns,” a source said.
They said there’s lots of “chatter online put no credible threats,” the source said.
Officials on the call said they understood there is a “caravan coming to escort Trump protesters to the court house” but noted that people will be able to exercise their right to protest.
“[Authorities] said they’re going to have extra police presence at certain sites, but they didn’t specify which sensitive sites,” the source said.
Adams told reporters earlier Monday that he had not talked to Bragg about when an indictment might come down but insisted the city is ready to handle what comes its way.
“We’re doing what we always do,’’ he said at an unrelated press conference.
“We’re monitoring comments on social media, and the NYPD is doing their normal role of making sure that there’s no inappropriate action in the city. And we’re confident we’re going to be able to do that.’’
A City Hall rep added, “While the NYPD continues to monitor all activity, there are no credible threats to the city at this time.
“We will continue to monitor all activity, and in coordination with other local, state, and federal law enforcement, the NYPD always remains prepared to respond to events happening on the ground and keep New Yorkers safe.”
About seven Trump supporters stood outside Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on Monday afternoon, including Dion Cini, 54, who waved a huge flag that read, “Trump 24 Save America and Finish The Wall.”
“We’re excited for them to arrest Trump,” said Cini of New York City, who refused to say what he does for a living, only calling himself a “rich white guy.
“We’re very excited because it’s going to backfire on them,” Cini said of prosecutors. “Whatever they do to Trump, it’s going to hit them twice as hard in reverse.”
Susan Miller, a self-employed New Yorker who was with the group, said, “There are a huge silent majority for Trump.
“I feel that it’s wrong,” she said of his prosecution. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on, Democrat or Republican or Independent. If they go through with this — never in history, has an ex-president been indicted — there’s going to be a problem with people feeling, well, they can come after us [Republicans] now.”
Law-enforcement sources said a protest march is scheduled Tuesday at 10 a.m. from Trump Tower in Midtown to the DA’s office downtown.
The state Young Republicans Club was holding a rally Monday evening in Lower Manhattan.
Bragg — who has told staffers he will not “tolerate attempts to intimidate our office’’ — snuck into the back entrance of his official Manhattan digs Monday morning.
Prosecutors with Bragg’s office asked Costello to testify before the grand jury after he came forward claiming he had information challenging Cohen’s credibility, sources told The Associated Press.
Krissoff said she doubted the lawyer’s testimony would sway the jury from proceeding either way.
“I wouldn’t expect Costello’s testimony to materially alter the direction of the grand jury,’’ she told The Post.
Still, “While the case may be compelling and most certainly intriguing to a jury, the district attorney faces both legal and factual hurdles in a prosecution of Trump related to the payments to Stormy Daniels,’’ the ex-federal prosecutor said.
“I expect that Trump’s team will argue, among other things, that the alleged conduct simply doesn’t fall within the ambit of the criminal statutes – particularly if the DA’s office brings a felony charge,” she said. “The theory behind such a felony charge is relatively novel and will face extensive scrutiny.
“Moreover, given that most of the expected witnesses here have told their story many, many times before – to federal and state prosecutors, to the public, to the press – it will be easier for Trump’s team to identify and capitalize on any inconsistencies, however slight, in those stories.
“If the case goes forward, it will be a battle for all involved,” Krissoff added.
Former Bronx prosecutor Michael Discioarro asserted that Bragg’s case against Trump is all but doomed.
“A twisted jumble of old facts with damaged witnesses that will be easily cross-examined and an offense that a jury may have a hard time following: This is by far the weakest case against Trump,” the defense lawyer told The Post on Monday.
“Why is a 7-year-old payment all of a sudden so important? I don’t care about politics. This is about what a jury will believe, and I know Bragg is counting on a liberal Manhattan jury. Manhattanites are liberal no question — but they are far from stupid.”
Cohen previously pleaded guilty to his role in the case and other crimes and served a little more than three years behind bars.
He has already testified before the grand jury.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona, Desheania Andrews, Kevin Sheehan and Zach Williams
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