The following article by David A. Fahrenthold, Josh Dawsey and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website August 25, 2018:
President Trump’s wall of secrecy — the work of a lifetime — is starting to crack.
His longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty last weekto breaking campaign-finance laws and said he had arranged hush-money payments to two women at Trump’s direction. A tabloid executive — who had served Trump by snuffing out damaging tales before they went public — and Trump’s chief financial officer gave testimony in the case.
All three had been part of the small circle of family, longtime aides and trusted associates who have long played crucial roles in Trump’s strategy to shield the details of his personal life and business dealings from prying outsiders.