Time Sep

(Jeff_L) #1
38 TIME September 3–10 2018

operator who leased some of his Chicago
medallions. In another Cohen failed
to report $1.3 million in income for a
diferent taxi operator who paid Cohen
personally for part of the leases rather
than Cohen’s medallion company. Cohen
also didn’t report $100000 he received
for brokering a Florida real estate deal
or a $30000 fee he charged in 2015
for arranging the sale of a Birkin bag a
high-priced French handbag. In total
he confessed to concealing more than
$4 million in personal income.
Suspicion that Cohen had engaged in
tax evasion and bank fraud led Mueller
to refer the matter to investigators
in New York’s Southern District. On
April 9 the FBI stormed Cohen’s
hotel room apartment law oice and
bank boxes collecting computers cell
phones tax records and other materials.
The raid was unusual not only because
Cohen had been the President’s personal
lawyer but also because prosecutors
have to get special permission from a
judge before raiding a lawyer’s property
unannounced to avoid violating
attorney-client privilege.
The evidence uncovered led to the
Aug. 21 plea deal. Unveiling it prosecutors
released new details about Cohen’s role
in arranging payments to two women
formerPlayboymodel Karen McDougal
and pornographic actor Stephanie
Cliford who performs under the name
Stormy Daniels to quash embarrassing
stories about their alleged liaisons
with Trump. In the summer of 2015
according to court documents David

Pecker a Trump friend and the chairman
of American Media Inc. the company
that publishes the National Enquirer
told Cohen he would act as something
of a ixer for the campaign. Cohen told
prosecutors that Pecker agreed to “help
deal with negative stories” about Trump’s
“relationships with women.” He ofered
to assist the campaign in “identifying
such stories so they could be purchased
and their publication avoided” a practice
known in the tabloid industry as “catch
and kill.”

In June 2016 a month before Trump
became the Republican nominee
for President Pecker alerted Cohen
that McDougal had ofered to sell the
Enquirer the story of her afair with
Trump which allegedly took place
shortly after Trump’s wife Melania gave
birth to their son Barron according
to court documents. Cohen told
prosecutors he urged Pecker to buy
the story and promised to reimburse

the magazine. Pecker’s company paid
McDougal $150000 for the rights to
the story which the Enquirer never
published. The “principal purpose” of
the deal Cohen told prosecutors was
to suppress the story to prevent it from
inluencing the election. In late July
2018 Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis
released a secret audio recording from
September 2016 in which Cohen tells
Trump “we’ll have to pay” to purchase
the rights to McDougal’s story. Trump
responds “Pay with cash.”
Around Oct. 8 2016 an agent for
Cliford approached an editor at Ameri-
can Media about telling the story of her
own alleged afair with Trump. It was
the day after the release of the bomb-
shell videotape of Trump on theAccess
Hollywood set bragging to “purchase
[her] silence” according to Cohen’s plea.
When Cohen failed to pay Cliford
immediately Cliford’s then attorney
told the editor that she would take
her story to another publication. The
editor texted Cohen according to court
documents telling him we “have to
coordinate something... or it could
look awfully bad for everyone.” Two
days later Cohen wired $130000 to
Cliford’s attorney and Cliford signed a
nondisclosure agreement according to
the court documents.
Cohen was reimbursed for his payment
to Cliford by the Trump Organization
in monthly installments of $35000
the court records show. The Trump
Organization itemized the invoices as
legal services even though Cohen had

Nation


PAUL MANAFORT
TRUMP CAMPAIGN
CHAIRMAN
Convicted of tax and
bank fraud. Awaiting
trial for unregistered
foreign lobbying

GATES
TRUMP DEPUTY
CAMPAIGN MANAGER
Pleaded guilty to lying to
the FBI and conspiring
to hide income earned
overseas

MICHAEL COHEN
TRUMP PERSONAL
LAWYER
Pleaded guilty to tax
evasion bank fraud
and campaign-inance
violations

MICHAEL FLYNN
TRUMP NATIONAL
SECURITY ADVISER
Pleaded guilty to
lying to the FBI about
contacts with the
Russian ambassador

The investigation
by special counsel
Robert Mueller
and related work
by other federal
oicials have
already entangled
high-proile igures
within President
Trump’s orbit.
Here’s a look at who
has been convicted
and who is under
the microscope:


COHEN’S PLEA
OPENS UP
PROBLEMS FOR
THE PRESIDENT
THAT GO BEYOND
HIS IMPLICATION
IN A CRIME

UNDER FIRE


CK

CONVICTED PLEADED GUILTY UNDER SCRUTINY
Free download pdf