AP/Julia Nikhinson
- Micheal Cohen reacted to a jury finding Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
- The former Trump fixer testified as the prosecution's star witness.
- Cohen said the journey was difficult for him and his family.
Michael Cohen on Thursday celebrated Donald Trump's unprecedented criminal conviction after a Manhattan jury found the former president guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Cohen, Trump's former longtime personal lawyer and fixer, was the prosecution's star witness in the five-week hush-money trial, which focused on Trump's efforts to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels just 11 days before the 2016 election.
"Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law," Cohen told BI. "While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters."
Cohen also thanked his attorneys for their "invaluable guidance and support" throughout the legal process.
In court, Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the payment to Daniels — for her silence over a sexual encounter the adult entertainment star says she had with Trump in 2006 during a celebrity golf tournament — ahead of the 2016 election and then repaid him with several checks in 2017 after he was already in office.
Trump has repeatedly denied the affair.
Trump's legal team spent much of their defense time attacking Cohen's credibility, but legal experts told BI that Cohen was ultimately a witness that the defense couldn't rattle.
Cohen is also a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. Cohen spent more than two years in prison.
Trump's sentencing date has been set for July 11. The former president will appeal the verdict, his attorney told Business Insider.