Stormy Daniels believes Michael Cohen told the truth to lawmakers
In adult film actress Stormy Daniels' first public remarks since former Trump fixer Michael Cohen testified about about hush money payments made to her over a claimed affair with Donald Trump, Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, said that she believes Cohen was telling the truth to lawmakers.
"I think it's for the same reason that I came forward and was honest. He's tired of being bullied. He's tired of being called a liar and a rat," Clifford told a crowd of about 500 women at The Wing, a female-focused workspace in Washington, D.C.
While Clifford said she only watched "part" of Cohen's testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in February, she remarked that she couldn't "escape" Cohen, who infamously paid Clifford $130,000 in a hush money payment to keep quiet about an alleged affair with President Trump.
"I can't escape this guy. He's like herpes. Wait actually, he's dumber than herpes," said Clifford. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, stemming from his guilty plea to campaign finance violations related to payments to women who claimed to have had affairs with Mr. Trump.
During his appearance on Capitol Hill, Cohen provided Congress documents showing a copy of a $35,000 check Mr. Trump made out to Cohen from his personal bank account to pay off Clifford, to avoid any money being traced back to the president and the campaign. Mr. Trump previously denied having any knowledge of such payments when asked by reporters.
It's that payment, however, that Clifford claims was "offensive," adding that she received "significantly less" after others "took their commissions."
"I would have added a zero to that," Clifford said of the payment. "That's offensive," she added. "And that's such a weird number. That's one of things I want to ask him - where did you get that number? It's like such a bizarre number. It's not a 100, or 150, it's so strange to me and it's always kind of been that one detail that bugs me. For no good reason at all. [...] I would have taken significantly less, honestly. But if I had been the one asking for it, it would have been a lot more," Clifford explained.
Here are more highlights of Clifford's conversation in D.C.:
- Clifford disputes claims that Michael Avenatti "dumped" her as a client: "Yeah, how adorable is that. Michael knew that I was very dissatisfied with a few things that...it pains me not to be able to share at this very moment but trust me, he knew that I was unhappy and that I was looking for new counsel, and we all know the real trick - you're fired - 'I quit! You can't fire me.' I think it's really adorable that he had his little statement all prepared to go on the defensive." Her new attorney is Tulsa, Oklahoma attorney Clark Brewster.
- Clifford teases new revelations: Clifford told the crowd that she expects to bring another defamation case against the president, citing "mistakes" in her first go-around.
- Clifford claims Trump never wanted to be president: "He told me he didn't want to be. [...] I asked him, 'Wouldn't you want to be president?' And he said 'No. Have you seen what the guys look like before and after? Second, I have way more fun hanging out with models and my beauty contestants.'"
- She feared Trump might have her killed: "I didn't come forward because he was president. That made me not want to come forward even more because I was scared he would have me killed. He was way more powerful as a president than a stupid reality show star."
- She regrets not voting in 2016: "One of my big regrets is I did not vote in the last election. And I just realize now how important that is."
CBS News' Rosa Kim contributed to this report.
