‘Lying to Melania Trump my biggest regret’ Michael Cohen reveals payout to Stormy Daniels
DONALD Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, has revealed how he deceived Melania Trump over a hush money payment to a pornstar - telling Congress that lying to the First Lady was his one of his “biggest regrets”.
Giving evidence on Capitol Hill, Mr Cohen branded the US President a “con man”. He said he had had been ordered by then-candidate Trump to transfer $131,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence over an alleged affair. Mr Cohen showed lawmakers a wire transfer showing a $131,000 payment leaving his bank account.
He told lawmakers: “Mr Trump is a con man.
“He asked me to pay off an adult film star, with whom he had an affair and to lie about it to his wife - which I did.
“The lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets because she is a kind, good person and I respect her greatly. She did not deserve that.”
Mr Trump denies any affair with Ms Daniels.
Michael Cohen pleaded admitted to lying to Congress in November 2018 over previous evidence he had given to lawmakers. He will
In his opening statement today, he said: "I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty - of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him.
"I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat."
Mr Trump has accused his former lawyer of lying in order to secure a lesser prison sentence.
The President, who is in Vietnam for a high-stakes summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, tweeted this morning: “Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also.
“He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time.”