The New York case against Trump involves alleged illegal payments to Daniels to prevent disclosure of a sexual affair with Trump in 2006, which the former president denies having occurred. Trump said he expects to be arrested on March 21 in connection to the case and called for protests.
"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, so Michael Cohen decided on his own... to see if he could take care of this," Costello said on Monday after testifying before the grand jury.
Costello said Cohen allegedly negotiated with Daniels' lawyer a non-disclosure agreement for $130,000. According to Costello, Cohen took out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) loan to pay Daniels.
Cohen said in an interview with US media later on Monday that the Manhattan District Attorney leading the hush money case against Trump has documentation to validate any statement he has made related to his defense in the case and dispel anything that Costello has claimed against him.
Cohen added that he is 100% certain that almost everything Costello has claimed against him will be proven to be inaccurate.
Law enforcement officials do not expect Trump to be arraigned until next week, a source told US media late on Monday.