Top Trump advisers guilty
Cohen says he paid hush money at ‘direction’ of Trump
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former fixer, pleaded guilty Tuesday to campaign finance and other charges.
He made the extraordinary admission that he paid a pornographic actress “at the direction of the candidate,” referring to Trump, to secure her silence about an affair she said she had with Trump.
Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami told reporters Tuesday after the guilty plea that Cohen submitted invoices to the then-candidate’s company to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful campaign contributions.
Khuzami said Cohen worked to silence two women who had information that would be “detrimental to the 2016
campaign.” Cohen then sought reimbursement for those payments in 2017 in an attempt to cover his tracks.
“He provided no legal services for the year 2017 and it was simply a means to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful campaign contributions,” Khuzami said.
Khuzami said Cohen decided, as a lawyer, that he was above the law and would pay a “very, very serious price” for his actions.
“These are very serious charges and reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over an extended period of time,” Khuzami said.
Federal prosecutors alleged in a court filing Tuesday that Cohen had “coordinated with one or more members” of Trump’s campaign about payments to
silence two women who claimed they’d had affairs with Trump before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors said that “Corporation-1” (National Enquirer) entered into an agreement in August 2016 to buy the story of one woman – Karen McDougal – for $150,000. Prosecutors said the purpose of the agreement, in which Cohen participated, “was to suppress Woman-1’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election.
Prosecutors have said Cohen arranged a separate payment to Stormy Daniels, who it describes as Woman-2, to prevent her from speaking to the press.
The 51-year-old Cohen said in federal court in New York on Tuesday that he made the payments in coordination with Trump to influence the election.
The other charges Cohen pleaded guilty to involve bank fraud and income tax evasion.
As part of his plea agreement, Cohen agreed not to challenge any sentence from 46 to 63 months.
Cohen’s plea comes after months of scrutiny from federal investigations and a falling out with the president, whom he previously said he’d “take a bullet” for.
FBI raids in April sought bank records, communications with Trump’s campaign and information on payments to Daniels and McDougal.
The deal comes after reports that federal investigators were looking into whether Cohen committed bank and tax fraud worth more than $20 million, according to a media report. The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, said authorities were focusing on loans obtained for taxi businesses owned by Cohen and his family.
Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Cohen. She has since filed a lawsuit to be released from a “hush” agreement over her affair.
Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Tuesday’s developments “will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case and should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it.”