Despite attorneys for Donald Trump taking the unusual step of bringing in their own witness on Monday to testify before a Manhattan grand jury looking into hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen expects an indictment to be handed down this week no matter what happens on Monday.
Reacting to reports that attorney Robert J. Costello will appear in an attempt to undercut testimony already given by former Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen, Eisen stated there is little that Costello could add based upon previous statements he has made.
Speaking with hosts John Harwood and Erica Hill, Eisen explained, "Costello's lawyer relationship ended with Cohen, now Costello is going to come in and share information from that attorney/client relationship, apparently saying that Cohen was telling a different story before he cooperated. But, John, we know that already -- Cohen has admitted to that."
"So they will bring in Cohen, possibly, if Costello needs to be rebutted to say, 'Yes, I wasn't candid before I cooperated, I've been candid since,' the attorney continued. "I've analyzed Cohen's statements since he began cooperating and they have been rock solid; he's told the same account about the president's hush money to influence the 2016 election."
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"We have always thought once things started accelerating that we would see charges before the end of March and I believe we're still on that track and that we could see them as soon as this week," he told the hosts. "This really is the end game at the very terminus of the grand jury proceedings; the defendant is sometimes invited as Trump was."
"I lived through all of this in the impeachment of President Trump, investigating the hush money, inviting the president to come testify before the House Judiciary Committee, and this signals to me that we are getting to the very end so I'm looking for charges as soon as this week," he reemphasized.
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