Porn star Stormy Daniels receives $130,000 in hush money to stay quiet about her 2006-2007 affair with Donald Trump. The payment is arranged by Michael Cohen, and the check for the payment is signed by Donald Trump Jr.
During a 2019 congressional hearing, Cohen presents a check signed by Don Jr. to verify his claims.
Cohen registered Essential Consultants LLC, a shell company, weeks before the election to aid in concealing the payment to Stormy Daniels.
In July 2018, Cohen pleads guilty to violating campaign finance law with the payment to Daniels, as well as a $150,000 payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Donald Trump claims not to know about the hush money payments, but reports surface in July 2019 that an FBI raid on Cohen’s home a year earlier turned up evidence to the contrary. Trump eventually admits to having repaid Cohen for the payment to Daniels.
The documents detailed repeated communications between Trump and Cohen and Hope Hicks, Trump’s presidential campaign press secretary who later became a senior White House official.
Reuters
Cohen, Trump, Hicks, and other campaign staff also collaborated with David Pecker, owner of American Media Inc. and the National Enquirer, a month before the election to arrange for AMI to send the payment to Daniels’ lawyer.
Sources
https://heavy.com/news/2019/03/stormy-daniels-michael-cohen/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-cohen-idUSKCN1UD18D
https://www.factcheck.org/2018/05/qa-on-stormy-daniels-payment/
Photo: Hillel Steinberg