Michael Dean Cohen (born August 25, 1966) is an American attorney, best known as the former personal attorney, fixer, and confidante to Donald Trump from 2006 to 2018. He began his legal career in 1992 as a personal injury lawyer, eventually opening his own practice before joining a law firm in 2006 and soon becoming involved with the Trump Organization, where he served as vice president and special counsel. Cohen also held positions such as co-president of Trump Entertainment Resorts and board member of the Eric Trump Foundation. From 2017 to 2018, he served as deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. His role included handling sensitive matters, most notably arranging hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to suppress allegations of an affair with Trump. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges including campaign finance violations related to those payments, tax evasion, and lying to Congress about Trump's business dealings in Russia. He was sentenced to three years in prison (serving from 2019 to 2021) and was later disbarred in New York. Since his release, Cohen has become a vocal critic of Trump, testifying against him in congressional hearings, authoring the memoir 'Disloyal: A Memoir' (2020), and pursuing a career in media, podcasting, and public speaking as an advocate for political accountability. His legal troubles and testimony have made him a key figure in investigations into Trump's inner circle, highlighting networks of influence in American business and politics.