This is huge.
Embattled Trump attorney Michael Cohen plans to the plead the Fifth Amendment in the lawsuit filed by ex-porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen informed a court of his decision on Wednesday.
Cohen’s home and office were raided by federal investigators this month. The trouble came pouring onto him after he admitted that he shoveled over $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair she had with Trump.
Daniels is suing Cohen to be released from the nondisclosure agreement she signed when she accepted the money.
Cohen apparently believes that his testimony in the lawsuit could incriminate himself.
“This is a stunning development. Never before in our nation’s history has the attorney for the sitting President invoked the 5th Amend in connection with issues surrounding the President. It is esp. stunning seeing as MC served as the ‘fixer’ for Mr. Trump for over 10 yrs,” Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti tweeted.
The Daniels scandal has become far more serious than it seemed at first. The fact that Cohen is pleading the fifth is a sign that he knows he might have done something wrong.
“Based upon the advice of counsel, I will assert my 5th amendment rights in connection with all proceedings in this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York,” Cohen told the judge.
“On April 10, 2018, I first realized that my Fifth Amendment Rights would be implicated in this case, after I considered the events of April 9, 2018.”
President Trump is grappling with a lot of concurrent legal battles. The most looming one is the Russia investigation, powered by special prosecutor Robert Mueller, followed by the Daniels lawsuit. The media is absolutely obsessed with Daniels’ story. She’s gobbling up most of the media’s attention right now.
JUST IN: Michael Cohen formally states that he will assert his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination in Stormy Daniels' civil case in California due to the ongoing criminal investigation against him in New York. https://t.co/20IadXjivo pic.twitter.com/11OQk3OVuT
— Chris “Law Dork” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) April 25, 2018
(Source: Daily Mail)