Michael Cohen to Assert 5th Amendment Right Against Self-Incrimination in Stormy Daniels Lawsuit

April 25, 2018, 11:56 PM UTC
Michael Cohen walks into NYC court
Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney, walks to the Loews Regency hotel on Park Ave on April 13, 2018 in New York City. Yana Paskova—Getty Images
Yana Paskova—Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s long-term lawyer Michael Cohen said he will assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination in the lawsuit by adult-film star Stormy Daniels because of the ongoing criminal investigation against him.

Cohen filed a declaration in federal court in Los Angeles Wednesday after a judge said at a hearing last week that he won’t put the case on hold unless he hears from Cohen himself rather than his lawyers.

Federal investigators are looking, among other things, at the $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in 2016 to guarantee her silence about the alleged affair she had with Trump.