Donald Trump’s former lawyer, fixer and consigliore, Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to a campaign finance law violation, in which he admitted in open court to acting “in coordination with and at the direction of” a federal candidate in ensuring the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.
In an apparent reference to Trump, Cohen admitted that he worked at the “direction of the candidate” to pay off the women to influence the 2016 election in violation of campaign finance laws, according to reports from the courtroom.
Cohen reportedly arranged hefty payouts worth a total of $280,000 to the porn star Stormy Daniels and previous Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep quiet their alleged affairs with the president.
He also submitted bogus invoices to “the candidate’s company” seeking reimbursement for the money, Khuzami said. Cohen worked for years at the Trump Organization, the president’s eponymous real estate firm.
In addition to the two campaign finance crimes, Cohen pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to a bank and five counts of tax evasion for failing to report more than $4 million in income over five years — including more than $1.3 million from his New York taxi medallion business, according to the criminal information filed in the case.
Cohen’s guilty plea marked a stark downfall for a New York City lawyer and onetime City Council candidate who was reportedly Trump’s longtime confidant and fixer.
His court appearance came as a jury convicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of eight counts in his separate criminal trial.
Cohen’s plea deal reportedly does not require him to cooperate with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, though that does not prevent him from giving the special counsel information, according to The New York Times.
Cohen’s taxi business played a significant role in the charges. Companies owned by him and his family have more than 30 New York City taxi medallions; the firms had open state tax warrants totaling nearly $174,000 as of April. He also owned medallions in Chicago, federal prosecutors said.
In addition to concealing taxi-related income from the Internal Revenue Service, Cohen “significantly understated” his medallion debt in a successful effort to get a $500,000 home equity line of credit that would not have been approved otherwise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Trump stayed silent on Twitter as news of the nearly simultaneous legal developments involving two of his former aides exploded. He only tweeted to announce his arrival in West Virginia for a Tuesday evening campaign rally.
He told reporters there that he felt “very sad” about Manafort’s conviction, but did not answer questions about Cohen, the New York Post reported.