Michael Cohen's clumsy payments provided prosecutors a crucial paper trail

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cohens-clumsy-payments-gave-paper-trail-to-prosecutors-2018-08-22

Michael Cohen’s clumsy payments provided prosecutors a crucial paper trail

Published: Aug 23, 2018 3:25 a.m. ET

Michael Cohen may be known as Donald Trump’s fixer, but clumsy contracts meant to separate the president from plans to pay off two women for their silence about alleged affairs instead gave prosecutors the paper trail they needed to pressure Cohen to plead guilty and connect his actions to President Trump.

Cohen testified that “in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump, between August and September 2016, he and David Pecker, the chairman of America Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, agreed to pay off two women to suppress stories about alleged affairs with Trump: Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model, and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

Cohen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to tax and bank fraud, but the two convoluted campaign-finance violations that he admitted to were the result of his attempt to be repaid for his payoff of Daniels, for some other campaign-related expenses, plus a bonus likely for his efforts to silence Daniels and McDougal, who was paid off by Pecker and American Media.
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