Did Cohen Break The Law With Stormy Daniels?

In 2016, Michael Cohen, then-president Donald Trump's personal lawyer, paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money to conceal an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Daniels sued Cohen in March 2018 to end the agreement, arguing it was invalid because Trump hadn't signed it. She also sued Trump for defamation. Cohen was later jailed on multiple charges, including tax evasion and breaking campaign finance rules related to the payment to Daniels. Trump was charged with falsifying 34 business records to hide the true nature of the repayment to Cohen, but he pleaded not guilty.

Stormy Daniels' lawyer accused Cohen's lawyer of leaking bank records to the press

In May 2018, Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, was accused by Cohen's lawyer, Stephen Ryan, of leaking Cohen's bank records to the press. This accusation was made during a hearing before US District Judge Kimba Wood in Manhattan, relating to a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors into Cohen's business dealings.

Ryan called the alleged leak a "drive-by shooting of my client's rights", suggesting that Avenatti had acted maliciously by releasing Cohen's bank records and attacking Cohen in dozens of media appearances to "`paint a false narrative'" about Cohen and "call attention to himself". Avenatti denied releasing anything improper about Cohen, who had not been charged with a crime.

Judge Wood warned Avenatti that he would not have free rein in her courtroom to "denigrate Mr Cohen and, I believe, potentially, deprive him of a fair trial by tainting a jury pool" should criminal charges be brought against Cohen. Leaks could indeed have made it harder for Cohen to get a fair trial if he were charged, and legal experts suggested that he might choose to cooperate with prosecutors as pressure mounted.

Avenatti's involvement complicated the Cohen probe. He had released details of payments to Cohen from a company linked to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who had been sanctioned by the US over suspected election meddling.

Avenatti signalled that more disclosures were forthcoming, saying: "We've got a whole host of information that we are going to be releasing relating to Mr Cohen and relating to Mr Trump, so they better buckle up."

Cohen's reimbursement was recorded as legal fees in Trump's accounts

In 2024, Donald Trump was found guilty of criminal charges relating to hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star. Trump's former lawyer and "fixer", Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump before the 2016 election.

Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the payment and that he would not have done so without being reimbursed. Cohen's reimbursement was falsely recorded as legal fees in Trump's family real estate company's books. Cohen invoiced $35,000 per month, with emails stating that the payments were for "services rendered" and "pursuant to the retainer agreement".

The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, argued that the case was about an effort to corrupt the 2016 election, not sex. Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to hide his reimbursement to Cohen.

Trump's defence team argued that Cohen was acting alone and that non-disclosure agreements are routine and legal in business. They also claimed that Trump was trying to spare his family embarrassment, regardless of the truth of the allegations.

The reimbursement to Cohen was made in monthly instalments of $35,000, totalling $420,000. This included the $130,000 payment to Daniels' lawyer, a $50,000 tech expense, and an additional $60,000 bonus for Cohen. The payments were drawn from Trump's personal account, with some cheques signed by Trump in the Oval Office.

The prosecution argued that the payments to Cohen were reimbursements disguised as monthly taxable income, allowing Trump to quietly pay him back for the hush money payment to Daniels.

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law

In August 2018, Michael Cohen, former lawyer to Donald Trump, was imprisoned after pleading guilty to tax evasion and breaking campaign finance rules, in part related to his payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford) and another alleged lover of Trump. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 through a shell company to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump, and was reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Cohen initially said that Trump had nothing to do with the payments, but later testified under oath that Trump had directed him to make the hush-payment and that the president had reimbursed him. Cohen also made recordings of a conversation in which he and Trump spoke about the arrangement to pay another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, through the National Enquirer.

Federal prosecutors charged Cohen with violating campaign finance law in connection with the payments, arguing that the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trump's campaign. However, they declined to file charges against Trump himself. Cohen's guilty plea pertained to this violation of federal campaign finance law.

In addition to the campaign finance violation, Cohen was also charged with tax evasion.

Trump's involvement in the hush-money payments

In October 2016, shortly before the presidential election, Donald Trump's private lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film star Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier. In exchange, Daniels agreed not to discuss the alleged relationship with Trump, who denied having an affair with her.

Trump was indicted in relation to these payments and, in May 2024, a jury in Lower Manhattan convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up the payment. He is the first former US president to stand trial and be convicted of a criminal offense.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan criminal court to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He called the case an attempt by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, to harm his 2024 campaign. Trump's defense sought to dismiss the case following his presidential election victory, arguing that he was immune from prosecution for a president's official acts. However, the prosecution successfully argued that the case dealt with Trump's personal conduct, not his official acts as president.

Trump's lawyers have repeatedly tried to challenge the validity of his conviction and postpone his sentencing, which is scheduled for January 10, 2025, ten days before his inauguration. They have argued that Trump is immune from criminal proceedings and that the sentencing will interfere with his presidential transition.

Trump's defence team rested their case in the trial

On May 21, 2024, Trump's defence team rested its case in the trial of The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump. The defence called two witnesses, including ex-lawyer Robert Costello, who was the final witness. The case was then in the hands of the jury, who would begin deliberating the following week.

The trial, which began on April 15, 2024, saw Trump accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments made to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels alleged that she had sex with Trump in 2006, which he denied, and that she was paid $130,000 to stay quiet about it in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

The trial centred on a reimbursement Trump made to his former personal lawyer and "fixer", Michael Cohen, who claimed he paid Daniels at Trump's direction and with his assurance that he would be repaid. While hush-money payments are not illegal, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office alleged that Trump committed a crime by improperly recording the money used to reimburse Cohen as legal expenses. They further accused him of falsifying business records to conceal a second crime—a violation of state election law.

Trump pleaded not guilty, arguing that the allegations he faced were not criminal. The defence argued that Trump was unaware of any unlawful scheme, that Cohen was an unreliable witness, and that the retainer agreement between them was valid.

Trump did not testify during the trial, though he had signalled at different times that he might. He was legally required to be in court each day, and the trial judge, Justice Juan Merchan, threatened to issue arrest warrants for absences. Trump spoke to the media each day before and after court, alleging, without evidence, that Democrats and others had orchestrated the criminal case to damage his chances in the upcoming election.

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