Michael Cohen to Serve as a Rebuttal Witness in Manhattan District Attorney’s Hush Money Inquiry

Michael Cohen, the former lawyer and “fixer” for ex-president Donald Trump, has confirmed that he is to serve as a rebuttal witness for Manhattan prosecutors. The grand jury is investigating an alleged $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier. Prosecutors are also examining the alleged falsification of business records related to the payment.

Lawyer Robert Costello, who briefly advised Cohen during an FBI raid on his home and office in 2018, is also scheduled to testify. Cohen has already waived attorney-client privilege claims with Costello, paving the way for his testimony, according to the Wall Street Journal. In relation to this, Cohen was unsure whether he would come before the grand jury or just meet with prosecutors.

Explaining his role to MSNBC’s Alex Witt, Cohen said: “I was asked to make myself available and to be at the DA’s office tomorrow as a rebuttal witness.”

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges related to the alleged payment to Daniels, also known as Stephanie Gregory Clifford. Costello did not represent him on that deal.

Donald Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, has not taken up the opportunity to deliver testimony before the panel and has decried the inquiry as a witch hunt. On Saturday, he suggested he “will be arrested on Tuesday” and called for “protest, take our nation back.”