FBI: Trump took part in payoff talks
Documents unsealed after hush-money inquiry
WASHINGTON – A day after the public heard Donald Trump boasting about grabbing women’s genitals in a leaked “Access Hollywood” outtake in 2016, the presidential candidate and some of his top aides began an urgent effort to silence a pornographic actress, according to court records unsealed Thursday.
The documents, part of the FBI’s investigation of a hush-money scheme, show agents gathered evidence that Trump participated in an effort to pay off Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who claimed to have had an extramarital affair with him years earlier. Authorities laid out a timeline of emails, text messages and phone calls – some involving Trump himself – that “concerned the need to prevent” Daniels from going public with her story.
Trump denied knowledge of the payments after they became public. The FBI told a judge it obtained telephone records showing he participated in some of the first conversations about the scheme, which prosecutors said violated federal campaign finance laws.
Federal prosecutors said in court filings last year that Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, orchestrated payments to Daniels and another woman, Karen McDougal, “in coordination with and at the direction of ” Trump. The documents unsealed Thursday offer an account of the extent of Trump’s involvement in that effort, which came at a particularly sensitive moment weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
The Justice Department told a judge Monday that it “effectively concluded” its investigation of the payoffs, signaling the end of one of the criminal inquiries that shadowed Trump’s presidency.
Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow said Wednesday that he’s pleased the investigation is closed and said Trump “never engaged in any campaign finance violation.”
Cohen called Sekulow’s comments “completely distorted and dishonest.” He said in a statement Thursday that Trump directed him and members of the Trump Organization to “handle the Stormy Daniels matter.”
“The conclusion of the investigation exonerating The Trump Organization’s role should be of great concern to the American people and investigated by Congress and The Department of Justice,” Cohen said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The documents do not describe the conclusions of the hush-money investigation but offer a window into what FBI agents learned in the first months of their work. They include copies of applications for search warrants laying out evidence that Cohen had broken the law. Cohen pleaded guilty to two felony violations of campaign finance laws and a series of other crimes, for which he is serving a three-year prison sentence.
The timeline of communication began Oct. 8, 2016, the day after The Washington Post published the infamous “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump talks in vulgar terms about women. Around this time, Daniels planned to talk to “Good Morning America” and Slate about her alleged relationship with Trump in 2006, the same year that his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son.
Hope Hicks, spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, called Cohen the evening of Oct. 8, 2016. Trump joined the call briefly. Hicks, Cohen and Trump continued to talk that night, and Cohen also communicated with David Pecker and Dylan Howard, heads of American Media, which publishes the National Enquirer.
Howard texted Cohen and Keith Davidson, an attorney for Daniels and McDougal, on Oct. 10, 2016, to connect them regarding “that business opportunity.” Davidson texted Cohen shortly after, telling him that they needed to “close this deal.”