Prosecutors in Manhattan have filed charges against then-President Donald Trump, accusing him of arranging a payment of $130,000 to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual affair just months before the 2016 election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg released a statement of facts outlining how Trump allegedly met with his lawyer Michael Cohen in the White House Oval Office in February 2017 to discuss the repayment scheme.
The statement of facts alleges that the Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization had agreed to repay Cohen, identified as “Lawyer A”, $420,000 by making twelve $35,000 payments, to cover the $130,000 to Daniels and also a $50,000 reimbursement fee. Trump and Cohen reportedly met in the Oval Office to confirm the payment arrangement per the statement of facts.
The statement by the District Attorney states that at no point did Lawyer A have a retainer agreement with the Defendant or the Trump Organization. Furthermore, the Trump Organization CFO allegedly doubled the amount to $360,000 to mask the reimbursement as income and added an extra $60,000 as a year-end bonus. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the investigation and continues to deny any wrongdoings.
The Trump Organization is an American conglomerate owned and controlled by Donald Trump, his family members, and affiliates. The organization has investments in real estate, tourism, hospitality, entertainment and retail, and has a variety of international investments and partnerships.
Michael Cohen is Donald Trump’s personal attorney and a former executive vice president of The Trump Organization. Cohen’s controversial work for the Trump Organization has been the subject of multiple investigations by federal prosecutors, most notably for alleged Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. He is also involved in a number of legal cases relating to alleged hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels.
