Who is Samantha Cohen? Trump's ex-lawyer makes multiple mentions of daughter during testimony

Samantha Cohen and Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen with his daughter, Samantha, last December. (Photo: Peter Foley/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

While testifying before Congress about his business dealings as Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen mentioned his own family numerous times, including daughter, Samantha.

On the topic of the Access Hollywood tape being made public in October 2016 — when the Trump uttered his infamous “grab ’em by the p****” comment — Cohen said he was out of the country at the time. He explained he was visiting his daughter, Samantha, a University of Pennsylvania undergrad who was then studying in London. His time off was cut short when Trump’s former aide Hope Hicks asked him to do damage control.

The mentions of Samantha made her a talking point on Twitter.

This isn’t the first time Samantha has been pulled into the spotlight by her prison-bound dad. Some things to know about her:

1. She’s a University of Pennsylvania grad.

The whole family — Cohen’s wife, Laura Shusterman, and younger son, Jake — attended graduation festivities last May. While a student at Penn, Samantha was reportedly part of the non-Greek sorority Tabard Society. She’s currently “seeking job opportunities,” according to a LinkedIn page in her name.

2. Her fixer dad once posted a photo of her in lingerie on Twitter.

In 2017, Cohen tweeted a snap of his pride and joy in a bra and tights, which led to comparisons of their relationship to Trump’s with Ivanka. Samantha spoke out about the controversy, saying, “My father does not think I’m ‘hot’ and him posting a professional photo taken of me in a bra and pants does not mean he sexualizes me.” She added, “There is nothing inappropriate in the picture and those who seek to make it something it is not are merely Trump haters who are using this as an opportunity to stir up drama.”

Cohen’s reaction was more perplexing. “Jealous?” he asked one commenter who called the photo “spank-bank material.”

3. A photo she posted of Cohen online made headlines too.

Samantha has more than 13,000 followers on her private Instagram, and once posted a photo of her and her dad celebrating his 50th birthday in Los Angeles. The photo later seemed to come in handy for Cohen after he was accused of being abroad at the time in Prague colluding with Russian officials. He cleared up the matter on American Media’s website Radar Online; it later come to light that Cohen worked with AMI to kill stories of Trump’s affairs.

4. Cohen apparently used his AMI ties to get his daughter in Shape magazine.

While still in high school, Samantha was featured in Shape, then an AMI-owned magazine. The article focused her climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, but also referred to her being a straight-A student and a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. In another interview for a different outlet, she cited the Eric Trump Foundation as being the inspiration to do philanthropic work for St. Jude.

5. Trump attended Samantha’s bat mitzvah…

…At least according to Cohen. While there are no pictures of the president dancing the hora when Samantha was 13, the disgraced attorney denied his then boss was racist. “Nothing angers me more than the disgraceful liberal media’s blatant mischaracterization of Mr. Trump as a racist,” he told Tablet. “As the child of a Holocaust survivor, racism was never permitted in our home and I would never work for someone with those tendencies. Would a racist attend both of my children’s Bat and Bar Mitzvahs?” (Trump apparently embarrassed Cohen at his son’s bar mitzvah a few years later.)

6. Samantha attended Trump’s inaugural ball.

And she looked very glam. So glam, in fact, that one of Cohen’s Twitter followers suggested he keep his daughter locked away. Cohen replied, “Thank you. … Fortunately for me she is as smart as she is beautiful.”

7. Samantha was on crutches due to hip surgery.

When Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December, his family accompanied him to court — including his daughter, who was using a crutch at the time. She had recently had surgery, according to ABC News, with Page Six reporting the procedure was on her hip. During the sentencing, Samantha was openly weeping, according to ABC. Cohen was “seen consoling her” — as well as his tearful son and wife.

Samantha Cohen, with Michael Cohen
Samantha Cohen was recovering from surgery when she accompanied her father to his sentencing last December. (Photo: Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

8. She’s part of the NY social scene.

While her father’s sentencing must have been difficult both physically and emotionally, she was well enough to attend the socialite-studded New York Botanical Garden’s Winter Wonderland Ball shortly after, Page Six reported. Wearing a vintage gown and gloves, she was even photographed on the dance floor. Last year, she also attended a charity event in the Hamptons.


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