Tag: Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen payments put spotlight on New York investment firm linked to Russian billionaire

The following article by ROsalind S. Helderman, Michael Kranish and Steven Mufson was posted on the Washington Post website May 20, 2018:

Here’s a breakdown of the people that President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen has dealt with and the investigations he’s entangled in. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

In June 2017, Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney, had an invitation for one of his other clients: Would he like to attend a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection?

Andrew Intrater — the chief executive of Columbus Nova, a New York-based investment management firm linked to a Russian billionaire — paid the $35,000 donation to attend the event, which also benefited the Republican National Committee. Continue reading “Michael Cohen payments put spotlight on New York investment firm linked to Russian billionaire”

In new financial disclosure, Trump reports apparent payment through his personal attorney to adult-film star

The following article by David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell was posted on the Washington Post website May 16, 2018:

President Trump reported a reimbursement of over $100,000 last year to his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in new financial disclosure documents. (Reuters)

In new financial-disclosure documents, President Trump reported reimbursing his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, more than $100,000 last year — an apparent reference to the $130,000 that Cohen paid just before the 2016 election, to ensure the silence of an adult-film actress who claimed she’d had an affair with Trump.

The information was included as a footnote in the 92-page form filed with the Office of Government Ethics. The ethics agency said it had concluded Trump should list a debt to Cohen in the “liabilities” section of his financial statement. It also notified the Justice Department, which enforces a law against willfully omitting information from these forms. Continue reading “In new financial disclosure, Trump reports apparent payment through his personal attorney to adult-film star”

Cohen’s $600,000 deal with AT&T specified he would advise on Time Warner merger, internal company records show

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman, Brian Fung and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website May 10, 2018:

Michael Cohen Credit: Mary Altaffer, AP

Three days after President Trump was sworn into office, the telecom giant AT&T turned to his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for help on a wide portfolio of issues pending before the federal government — including the company’s proposed merger with Time Warner, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The documents detail the full scope of Cohen’s $600,000 deal with AT&T and how his contract specified that he would provide advice on the $85 billion merger, which required the approval of federal antitrust regulators. Continue reading “Cohen’s $600,000 deal with AT&T specified he would advise on Time Warner merger, internal company records show”

Russian-Linked Firm that Paid Trump Lawyer Cohen Also Registered Alt-Right Web Domains: Report

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website May 9, 2018:

Alt-right.co, Alternate-rt.com, and Alt-rite.com were among the site reportedly registered through the company.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

In the stories about Russia and President Donald Trump, things are almost always even more bizarre than they first appear.

Multiple outlets reported Wednesday night that Russian-linked firm Columbus Nova that paid Trump’s lawyer Michel Cohen hundreds of thousands of dollars following the 2016 presidential election also registered a series of website domain names tied to the alt-right.

Ben Collins of NBC News reported that the company registered alt-right.co, alternate-rt.com, and alt-rite.com, in addition to seven other variations. It also registered domain names not tied to the alt-right. Continue reading “Russian-Linked Firm that Paid Trump Lawyer Cohen Also Registered Alt-Right Web Domains: Report”

How money flowed through Michael Cohen’s multi-purpose shell company

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website May 8, 2018:

When Stormy Daniels’s lawyer tweeted out bank records for President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, a whole new web of connections was unfurled. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

To keep news of a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels quiet, President Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen created a limited liability company in Delaware called Essential Consultants. Cohen said that he paid $130,000 of his own money into a bank account associated with the company and, from that account, transferred the money to Daniels’s attorney at the time, Keith Davidson.

The bank account, it seems, was a little busier than just that. Continue reading “How money flowed through Michael Cohen’s multi-purpose shell company”

Giuliani: Cohen would have paid other women ‘if it was necessary’

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the HillI website May 6, 2018:

Rudy Giuliani on Sunday said while he has no knowledge of President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paying any women in addition to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, he believes Cohen would have done so if he deemed it “necessary.”

“I have no knowledge of that. But I would think if it was necessary, yes.” Giuliani, who recently joined Trump’s team of lawyers, told ABC’s “This Week” when asked about Cohen making payments to other women. Continue reading “Giuliani: Cohen would have paid other women ‘if it was necessary’”

Trump Is Said to Have Known of Payment to Stormy Daniels Months Before He Denied It

The following article by Michael D. Shear, Maggie Haberman, Jim Rutenberg and Matt Apuzzo was posted on the New York Times website May 4, 2018:

Pres. Trump had denied in April that he knew of a $130,000 hush payment made to a pornographic film actress who claimed to have had an affair with him. Credit: Al Drago, New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump knew about a six-figure payment that Michael D. Cohen, his personal lawyer, made to a pornographic film actress several months before he denied any knowledge of it to reporters aboard Air Force One in April, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

How much Mr. Trump knew about the payment to Stephanie Clifford, the actress, and who else was aware of it have been at the center of a swirling controversy for the past 48 hours touched off by a television interview with Rudolph W. Giuliani, a new addition to the president’s legal team. The interview was the first time a lawyer for the president had acknowledged that Mr. Trump had reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payments to Ms. Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels. Continue reading “Trump Is Said to Have Known of Payment to Stormy Daniels Months Before He Denied It”

The blatant coverup of Trump’s Stormy Daniels payment

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website May 3, 2018:

Rudolph W. Giuliani said President Trump personally repaid his lawyer the $130,000 that was used to buy Stormy Daniels’s silence about an alleged affair. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

What many close observers suspected about the Stormy Daniels payment has proved true, despite the Trump team’s best efforts to cover it up: President Trump was behind it, even if he didn’t necessarily know about it.

Trump’s attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani on Wednesday night confirmed what Trump and Michael Cohen conspicuously and curiously wouldn’t deny: Trump reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Giuliani slipped the confirmation into an interview Wednesday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News. Continue reading “The blatant coverup of Trump’s Stormy Daniels payment”

Trump repaying the Stormy Daniels money doesn’t mean there were no campaign finance violations

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website May 3, 2018:

Rudolph W. Giuliani said President Trump personally repaid his lawyer the $130,000 that was used to buy Stormy Daniels’s silence about an alleged affair. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

This article has been updated.

It didn’t take former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani long to make his mark after joining President Trump’s legal team. Unfortunately, the mark Giuliani left was on his client.

During an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Giuliani volunteered a startling bit of information. The $130,000 that Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen admitted paying to porn star Stormy Daniels? Trump had repaid it. Continue reading “Trump repaying the Stormy Daniels money doesn’t mean there were no campaign finance violations”

Giuliani: Trump repaid attorney Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement

The following article by Devlin Barrett, Robert Costa and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website May 3, 2018:

Rudolph W. Giuliani said President Trump personally repaid his lawyer the $130,000 that was used to buy Stormy Daniels’s silence about an alleged affair. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a recent addition to President Trump’s legal team, said Wednesday night that Trump made a series of payments reimbursing his attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 settlement with an adult-film actress — despite Trump’s assertion last month that he was unaware of the payment.

“The president repaid it,’’ Giuliani told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity. Continue reading “Giuliani: Trump repaid attorney Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement”