Michael Avenatti
Michael Avenatti.
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  • Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels's attorney, had an ominous warning for Michael Cohen's associates.
  • "Anyone that had any contact with this man in the last 20 years should be very concerned about what secrets of theirs are within these documents," he said.
  • His comments came at the end of a consequential day in court.

Porn star Stormy Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, gave an ominous warning Monday to associates of President Donald Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen as he stood outside a federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Following a wild day of proceedings as part of a criminal investigation into Cohen — including the revelation that Fox News host Sean Hannity had been a client of Cohen's— Avenatti said none of the lawyer's associates are safe.

"I said last Friday and this weekend that Michael Cohen was radioactive, and that anybody that was associated with him in the last 20 or 30 years should be very, very concerned," Avenatti told reporters at an impromptu press conference following the day's proceedings. "What we witnessed earlier in the hearing with the disclosure related to Sean Hannity proved my point exactly. He is radioactive."

"Anyone that had any contact with this man in the last 20 years should be very concerned about what secrets of theirs are within these documents," he said, referring to documents obtained by the FBI in a series of raids last week on Cohen's home, office, and hotel room.

Daniels provided comment to reporters as well, saying Cohen as "for years" acted "like he is above the law" and has "openly referred to himself as Mr. Trump's fixer."

"He has played by a different set of rules or should we say no rules at all," she said. "He has never thought that the little man, or especially women or even more women like me, matter. That ends now."

Watch Avenatti's comments:

Earlier Monday, a federal judge ordered the release of the name of Cohen's mystery third client: Hannity.

Cohen's attorneys said in a filing that Cohen had represented three clients in the past year, including Trump and Elliott Broidy, a Republican fundraiser. The attorneys argued that the third client's name should remain anonymous.

In their letter to US District Judge Kimba Wood, Cohen's attorneys, Todd Harrison and Stephen Ryan, wrote that the third client did not allow them to disclose that they had used Cohen's services.
But that didn't hold up with Wood, who insisted the third client be disclosed publicly at Monday's hearing.

It was not immediately clear what legal work Cohen provided Hannity. In a tweet, Hannity said it was "almost exclusively about real estate."

Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, shortly before the 2016 election to ensure her silence about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Cohen also facilitated a $1.6 million payment to a former Playboy model who said Broidy had impregnated her, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Hannity and Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
During his Monday radio show, Hannity said he had used eight attorneys in his life and insisted he "never retained" Cohen "in the traditional sense."

"Michael never represented me in any matter," Hannity said, adding: "I never received an invoice from Michael. I never paid legal fees to Michael."

But Hannity said he asked Cohen "brief" legal questions, adding that may have handed Cohen $10 and said, "I want privilege to cover me about this conversation."