Stormy Daniels Had A Heartfelt Message For Michael Cohen During His Testimony

On Tuesday, Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen gave an explosive testimony to Congress, calling his former boss a "conman" and talking extensively about the "illicit acts" he says he helped Trump conceal. Later in the day, Stormy Daniels thanked Cohen for his testimony, saying on Twitter that she is "proud" of him and wishing him and his family the best.

"Michael, I'm proud of you for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did, and trying to repair some of the harm you have caused," Daniels wrote in a statement. "I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country. My heart goes out to you and your family."

Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in 2018, some related to his work for Trump, and has been sentenced to three years in prison. In August, he admitted in court that he facilitated a $130,000 payment from Trump to Daniels during the tail end of the 2016 election; he and Daniels say that this money was given to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an affair she and Trump allegedly had a decade earlier. Trump denies the affair but acknowledges the payment.

"You spoke about how the president and his attorney put you and your family in danger by calling you a liar and a rat and disparaging you in public," Daniels said in her statement. "I understand your fear, Michael. I have a family too. Do you believe now that when you and the president called me a liar, when you were his attorney and you insulted me, threatened to bankrupt me and worse, that you put me and my family in danger? I remember the fear you feel. I still feel it."

In March, Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti said that Cohen, through his attorney, had "threatened" Daniels "in an effort to prevent her from telling the truth about what really happened" between her and Trump. Cohen denied this, telling Vanity Fair that he "never threatened her in any way and I am unaware of anyone else doing so."

During his testimony on Tuesday, Cohen presented three documents as evidence of the money he paid Daniels on Trump's behalf: A wire transfer between him and Daniels' former attorney for $130,000; a $35,000 check from Trump to Cohen, which Cohen said was partial reimbursement for original payment; and another $35,000 check to Cohen, this one apparently signed by Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg.

"My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything — my family's happiness, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation and soon my freedom," Cohen said during his testimony. "To those that support the President and his rhetoric as I once did, I pray the country doesn't make the same mistakes that I have made or pay the heavy price that my family and I are paying."

In her statement, Daniels thanked Cohen "for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth."

"I hope that someday, your family and mine can both leave this nightmare behind," she said in closing.