Reuters reported that Michael Cohen is Donald Trump‘s former lawyer-turned-fixer, who Stormy Daniels claimed paid her the hush money. Daniels said Cohen paid her $130,000 at Trump’s direction in 2016 to avoid a scandal before the presidential elections. The adult film star alleged that the money was to maintain her silence about an alleged sexual encounter between her and Trump in 2006. She said that the encounter occurred only once during a golf tournament at Lake Tahoe. Trump was married to Melania Trump at the time.
After the hush money allegations first surfaced in 2018, Michael Cohen claimed he paid Stormy Daniels with his own money. He denied making the payment in the direction of then-President Donald Trump. CBS News and BBC stated that in August of that year, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, such as tax evasion, bank fraud, and breaking campaign finance rules. Forbes reported that he received a three-year prison sentence.
Reportedly, Michael Cohen was released from prison in November 2021. USA Today further reported that Cohen is not a lawyer anymore as his conviction disbars him from practicing. The former lawyer is now testifying as the prosecution witness in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Trump has denied making the alleged hush money payment to Daniels as well as having a sexual encounter with her.
Stormy Daniels’ Peacock documentary discusses Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen’s involvement in the hush money case. The documentary premiered earlier this year in March and is now streaming on the platform.
What has Michael Cohen said about Stormy Daniels’ hush money case?
Michael Cohen initially claimed that he made the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels on his own accord. He denied that he made the payment to Daniels at the direction of then-President Donald Trump, per Reuters. Meanwhile, District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged that Cohen made the payment on Trump’s behalf prior to the 2016 elections. BBC reported that Bragg claimed it was Trump’s attempt “to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public.”
The outlet noted that Daniels revealed she took the money and signed an NDA because she feared for her family’s safety. She has revealed in her Peacock documentary that she received legal as well as physical threats, per People Magazine. The adult film star mentioned an instance from May 2011 when a stranger threatened her while she was with her daughter in a Las Vegas parking lot.
Reuters further stated that since Stormy Daniels signed the non-disclosure agreement, this forbade her from discussing the alleged sexual encounter she had with Donald Trump publicly in exchange for the money. Daniels’ then-lawyer, Keith Davidson, and Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, had also signed the document. Trump reportedly signed the same despite having a spot for his signature.
According to BBC, in a 2019 testimony, Cohen claimed that he made the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels at Trump’s direction. He further alleged that the then-president had also reimbursed him for the same. The Guardian stated that Cohen testified, “One month into his presidency, I’m visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time.”
Michael Cohen alleged that while showing him around the office, Donald Trump assured him that he would soon receive his “January and February reimbursement cheques.” Trump allegedly explained to him how it takes “a while” for a payment like that “to get through the White House system.” The former lawyer added, “I received the first cheque for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter.”
Subsequently, in 2023, Trump became the first-ever former President of the U.S. to face criminal charges. He is now on trial on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, per BBC. Some of these counts stem from a cover-up surrounding the $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels. Michael Cohen recently testified at the hush-money trial as the prosecution’s witness.
Peacock’s documentary Stormy further looks into Daniels’ hush money case and Cohen’s involvement in it. The doc is streaming on the platform.
