The media company’s first “catch and kill” involved a door attendant at Trump Tower trying to sell a story about a child allegedly fathered out of wedlock by Trump. I paid a door attendant $30,000 for this. The second “catch and kill” involved McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, who he was married to in the early 2000s. requested not to be made public.
In a taped conversation in September 2016, Cohen told Trump that he was going to open a company for wire transfers to McDougal and that he would talk to the Trump organization’s CFO about “how to set the whole thing up.” He is said to have said he did.
“So what do we have to pay for this?” Trump asked, according to the district attorney’s office. “150?”
Prosecutors allege Cohen disagreed and suggested Trump pay by check.
later Access to Hollywood Tape of Trump speaking to host Billy Bush he grabs a woman ‘by the pussy’ After it went public in October 2016, prosecutors say American Media’s editor-in-chief linked Cohen with Daniels’ attorney to secure her silence. However, Trump was told he didn’t want to make the $130,000 payment himself, so Cohen agreed to pay it on his behalf.
According to prosecutors, the men delayed payment to Daniels until October 2016, when Cohen opened a Manhattan bank account for a paper company called Essential Consultants LLC. Cohen then transferred $131,000 from a personal home equity line of credit to his account, before wire-transferring $130,000 to Daniels’ attorney as hush money.
After the 2016 election, Trump paid Cohen back through monthly payments that prosecutors claimed were disguised as payments for legal services.
After Trump won the election, American Media released the Trump Tower doorman and McDougall from their non-disclosure agreements. Before and after Mr Trump’s inauguration, prosecutors said he thanked Mr Pecker for personally meeting him and killing stories about the doorman and Mr McDougall.
In January 2017, the CFO of the Trump Organization agreed to repay Cohen through monthly payments throughout the year as part of a “retention agreement” that prosecutors said was a sham. They are said to have met in the Oval Office to confirm a repayment agreement.
In February 2017, Cohen emailed an invoice requesting payment approved by the Trump Organization, stating, “Please post to legal costs. Retainer January and February 2017” in the description. please.
Prosecutors say Cohen did this 10 more times, with each bill incorrectly stating it was for a retention agreement. was allegedly personally paid for, and the check contained false statements.
“A total of 34 false entries were made in New York business records to conceal the initial secret $130,000 payment,” Bragg’s office said in a statement. We have taken steps to mislead the nature of refunds for the purpose of
In August 2018, the FBI issued a search warrant for Cohen’s home and office. Afterwards, prosecutors say Trump told Cohen in a phone call to “stay strong.”
Cohen ultimately pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including tax evasion and making false statements to financial institutions. In September 2018, American Media signed a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for cooperating with the investigation.
