Judge: Cohen campaign finance probe finished
Federal prosecutors NEW YORK — have told a judge in New York they have concluded their investigation into campaign finance crimes committed by President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The closure of the case is the strongest suggestion yet that federal prosecutors have decided not to bring criminal charges against anyone besides Cohen in the scheme to use hush-money payments to protect Trump’s reputation during the 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III made the disclosure in a court filing Wednesday as part of a legal fight over whether to unseal search warrant materials dealing with the investigation.
For months, prosecutors had asked that the documents remain sealed because they were still probing payments Cohen helped orchestrate to two women — porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal — who claimed they had affairs with Trump.
While Cohen pleaded guilty last August to charges that the payoffs amounted to illegal campaign contributions, others involved remained uncharged, including Trump himself and executives at the Trump Organization and American Media Inc., the company that owns the National Enquirer.
Now, though, prosecutors have informed the court in a sealed filing that they’ve concluded the investigation, clearing the way for the release of documents related to the case.
The judge rejected a request by prosecutors to black out portions of the documents to protect thirdparty privacy interests, saying the records involved “a matter of national importance.”
“Now that the Government’s investigation into those violations has concluded, it is time that every American has an opportunity to scrutinize the materials,” Pauley wrote.
He ordered the government to put the search warrant records related to searches of Cohen’s residence and office in the public record by 11 a.m. today.
Trump has denied any sexual relationship with Daniels and McDougal and said any payments made to them were private in nature and not related to his campaign.
“We are pleased that the investigation surrounding these ridiculous campaign finance allegations is now closed,” Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said Wednesday. “We have maintained from the outset that the President never engaged in any campaign finance violation.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment and wouldn’t answer questions about whether the completion of the investigation meant that no one else would be charged.
In December, Pauley sentenced Cohen to three years in prison for crimes including the campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and tax evasion.
He began serving the sentence in May, saying at the time it was an injustice that he was going to prison for crimes that benefited Trump.
In previous court filings, federal prosecutors in New York appeared to implicate Trump directly, saying that he directed Cohen to make the hush money payments.
However, the Justice Department has held that sitting presidents cannot be charged in the federal criminal justice system and instead can only be punished for misdeeds by Congress through the impeachment process.
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