AT&T and Novartis paid Trump lawyer

WASHINGTON – Watchdog groups slammed President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday for collecting millions from a firm tied to a Russian oligarch and companies with business before the Trump administration.

Essential Consultants, a limited liability company Cohen used to pay porn star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election, received payments from a subsidiary of Swiss-based drugmaker Novartis, telecom giant AT&T and Columbus Nova, an American firm tied to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg.

AT&T, which has a proposed merger with Time-Warner pending before the Justice Department, confirmed it paid Cohen for “insights into understanding the new administration.” Novartis, which makes Ritalin, Lamisil and other drugs, said it paid Cohen over the course of a year for help with “U.S. health care policy.”

Watchdog groups said Cohen had not worked on those issues, and he appeared to mainly be trading on his relationship with the president.

“All he is is a guy who’s close to Trump,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “Nothing about it makes any sense at all.” He called on Congress to investigate and for AT&T and Novartis to make public the details of their arrangements with Cohen, who is under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in New York.

Novartis acknowledged Wednesday that company officials were questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office over their relationship with Cohen. The company declined to say how it came into contact with Cohen or what services he provided.

Wednesday evening, AT&T issued a statement, saying it was contacted by Mueller’s office about Cohen late last year and “cooperated fully, providing all information requested.”

Fred Wertheimer, who runs the watchdog group Democracy 21, said there’s no precedent for the president’s personal lawyer benefiting from consulting contracts with firms trying to influence his administration.

“This was clearly an effort by these companies to see if Michael Cohen’s appearance of being close to Trump can buy them access, influence and information,” Wertheimer said.

Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that the payments to Cohen “have nothing to do” with the president.

Cohen and his lawyer Steve Ryan did not respond to interview requests from USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Cohen’s receipt of $500,000 from Columbus Nova, has drawn intense scrutiny because of the firm's ties to Vekselberg. Vekselberg, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was questioned about the payments to Cohen by investigators helping Mueller in his inquiry into suspected Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, CNN reported this week. Last month, the Trump administration included Vekselberg on a list of Russians under economic sanctions.

In a statement, Columbus Nova said the firm is owned and controlled by Americans, not Vekselberg, and said it paid Cohen for business consulting.

Cohen’s firm received payments from Korea Aerospace Industries, which works with Lockheed Martin on a bid to build the next generation of training jets for the U.S. Air Force.

The contract, worth about $16 billion to the winner, was to be awarded before the end of last year, but the Air Force decided in November 2017 to delay the award. That month, Cohen’s shell company received a payment of $150,000 from the Korean company, according to a document released by Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti.

The company confirmed the payment to Essential Consultants, telling the Associated Press it was for legal advice on accounting standards.