Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal
On January 12, 2018, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that in October 2016, just before the 2016 United States presidential election, Michael Cohen, lawyer for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, arranged a payment of $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to stop her disclosing an affair she alleged they had in 2006. Daniels had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). At first, Cohen denied Trump had the alleged affair and sought to suppress the allegation based on the NDA, but a month later publicly acknowledged making the payment. Besides the allegations of the  affair itself, the acknowledged payment raised legal and ethical questions as to whether the payment violated federal campaign finance laws, either because the payment was not duly disclosed as a campaign contribution or because campaign funds may have been used towards the payment. On February 13, Cohen said he paid the money out of his own pocket, not as a campaign contribution; and that neither The Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign reimbursed him for making it. On April 5, Trump said he had no knowledge of Cohen's payment; but on April 26 admitted for the first time that  Cohen represented him in "the Stormy Daniels deal". On May 2, Trump's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the payment. In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including a campaign finance violation for Daniels' payment. He stated under oath that he paid her "in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office". Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison on various charges, and was disbarred. Daniels filed three lawsuits against Trump and/or Cohen. In the first lawsuit she argued that the NDA was invalid. She  won the lawsuit, though it was dismissed after Trump and Cohen agreed not to enforce the NDA. A California court subsequently ordered Trump pay $44,100 to reimburse her legal fees. She lost the second lawsuit, in which she argued she was defamed, and was ordered to pay almost $300,000 in legal fees and court sanctions. In the third lawsuit she claimed that Cohen colluded with her previous attorney Keith Davidson against her interests when he negotiated the payment. The lawsuit did not name Trump as a defendant, and settled in May 2019. Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars, provided  his tax returns and related documents to the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., following the outcome of the Supreme Court's "Trump v. Vance" ruling in February 2021. The potential liability of Trump and other potential charges against Cohen arising from the payments to Daniels had yet to be determined and resolved. However, although an internal report said there was "reason to believe" Trump's campaign had knowingly violated campaign finance law, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) abandoned an inquiry into the payment to Daniels. The FEC's vote on May 6, 2021 split 2–2 along party lines. Allegation  and non-disclosure agreement. Both the blog "The Dirty" and the magazine "Life & Style" published the first reports of an alleged 2006 affair between Trump and Daniels (the latter took a polygraph test) published in October 2011. Daniels talked about the alleged affair with the gossip magazine "In Touch Weekly", who chose not to publish the interview after Cohen threatened to sue the magazine around the same time. "The Wall Street Journal" reported on January 12, 2018, that Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016, a month before the election, to stop her discussing the alleged affair.<ref name="Rothfeld_Palazzolo_1/12/2018"></ref><ref name="Prokop_1/12/2018"></ref > Cohen denied the existence of the affair on behalf of his client Donald Trump on January 14<ref name="Stern_Snow_1/12/2018"></ref> but acknowledged on February 13 that he paid Daniels $130,000. Daniels filed a lawsuit against Trump on March 6, 2018, claiming that the non-disclosure agreement she signed about the alleged affair was invalid since Trump never personally signed it despite acknowledging that she accepted the payment made in exchange for her silence in the matter. It also alleged that Trump's attorney tried to intimidate Daniels and "scare her into not talking". Cohen initiated an ex  parte arbitration process the next day that resulted in an order barring Daniels from disclosing "confidential information" related to the non-disclosure agreement. The order that Daniels' lawyers called "bogus" was to remain confidential. In an interview with "60 Minutes" that aired March 25, 2018, Daniels said that she and Trump had sex once. She also said that she was threatened in front of her infant daughter after a fitness class in Las Vegas in 2011. The threat pressured her to later sign a non-disclosure agreement. FBI agents raided Cohen's office and seized emails, tax documents, and business  records relating to several matters, including the payment to Daniels, on April 9, 2018. Status of Cohen's payment. Daniels' lawyer said that the $130,000 payment to her was a cover-up, while others also raised questions about whether the payment violated federal campaign finance laws, which may be the case if campaign funds were involved. "The Wall Street Journal" reported on January 12, 2018, that Daniels was paid $130,000 after a non-disclosure agreement via a Delaware limited liability company called Essential Consultants LLC that Cohen created for the purpose. The political watchdog group Common Cause filed  a complaint on January 22, calling on the Federal Election Commission and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate if the reported payout violated campaign finance rules, saying the alleged payment amounted to an in-kind donation to Trump's presidential campaign that should have been publicly disclosed in its official reports. Cohen responded to "The New York Times" on February 13 that he paid Daniels the $130,000 from his own pocket, not as a campaign contribution, and that neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign reimbursed him for making it. "The Washington Post" later noted that Cohen never  ruled out the possibility that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment stating that he used his own money to "facilitate" it. Cohen said on March 13 that he transferred funds from his home equity line of credit to Essential Consultants LLC and from the company to Daniels' attorney. On April 5, 2018, Trump claimed that he had no knowledge of Cohen's payment to Daniels but admitted that Cohen represented him in "the Stormy Daniels deal" for the first time on April 26. Trump's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on May 2 that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment , stating Trump "didn't know about the specifics of it but he did know about the general arrangement, that Michael [Cohen] would take care of things like this". Trump tweeted the next day that Cohen entered into the non-disclosure agreement and stated that Cohen was reimbursed for the $130,000 through monthly $35,000 retainer payments to him tweeting "Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no in this transaction". Trump contradicted Giuliani's statements on May 4, saying that Giuliani "wasn't familiar with everything" and that, "He started yesterday. He'll get his facts straight." Giuliani  later released a statement saying "the payment was made to resolve a personal and false allegation in order to protect the President's family". Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges on August 21, 2018, including a campaign finance violation, for his role in the payment. He implicated Trump, saying that he acted "in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office". Trump said that he only knew about the payments "later on", adding that the payments "didn't come out of the campaign, they came from me". "The New York Times" reported on August 22 that Cohen 's court documents revealed that two senior Trump Organization executives also involved in the hush money payments. It also said that Cohen "coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls" about the payments. Trump denied directing Cohen to make hush payments on December 13. Legal issues. The Common Cause filed complaints with the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission claiming that the $130,000 payment to Daniels was a campaign contribution and that Trump's campaign violated campaign finance laws by not disclosing the payment to the Federal Election Commission. If  the payment was made by Cohen, there is also a question whether it is an illegal or undisclosed in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign. However, several members of Trump's legal team deny the payment related to the campaign, instead claiming that it was a personal payment, to save Trump's marriage. Questions have also been raised about how the payment was categorized for tax purposes, and if there is a possibility of tax-based charges or fees relating to the payment. Daniels filed a civil suit in an attempt to nullify the non-disclosure agreement between Trump and  her on March 6, 2018. The hearing set for July; but U.S. district judge S. James Otero pushed it back, citing the possible indictment of Cohen in the ongoing criminal probe by federal prosecutors. Cohen also faces discipline from the State Bar of New York under the New York Rules of Professional Conduct that prohibits lawyers making loans to clients. A well established principle of contract law is the offer and acceptance of "consideration" or something of value, in exchange for a promise to do something (or not do something, as in the case of a non-disclosure agreement]. Legal  experts argue that the $130,000 payment being accepted by one party is valid consideration and enforceable regardless of the unsigned state of the Daniels non-disclosure agreement, but other elements in the Daniels agreement make predicting the outcome difficult. Issues like the use of pseudonyms and the disclosure exception for law enforcement investigations may favor Daniels' position. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges on August 21, 2018, including tax fraud, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations, for his role in the payment, and implicated Trump, who in response said that he only knew about the payments "later on". "The  Wall Street Journal" reported on November 9, 2018, that federal prosecutors have evidence of Trump's "central role" in payments to both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal that violated campaign-finance laws. Federal prosecutors implicated Trump in directing Cohen to commit the campaign finance law felonies that Cohen pleaded guilty in a sentencing memorandum for Cohen on December 7, 2018. Trump tweeted shortly after the memorandum court filing, "Totally clears the president. Thank you!" Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison. NBC News reported on December 13, 2018, that Trump was present in an August 2015 meeting with  Cohen and David Pecker when they discussed how American Media could help counter negative stories about Trump's relationships with women, confirming previous reporting by "The Wall Street Journal". The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York investigated the possible role of Trump and others regarding concealment of hush money payments, but indicated in a sealed court filing that it is unlikely to bring additional charges. On July 17, 2019, U.S. district judge William H. Pauley III, finding the investigation to be over, ordered that filing and materials related to the probe be unsealed on July 18 , 2019. Timeline. January 2018. On January 12, 2018, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016, a month before the presidential election, to stop her discussing an affair she allegedly had with Trump in 2006. On January 14, Cohen denied the existence of an affair on behalf of his client, Trump, but acknowledged that he had paid Daniels $130,000. He also said that the payment was out of his own money. In its initial report, it was reported that the payment came via Essential Consultants LLC, a private company founded by Cohen  in Delaware on October 17, 2016, which received £500,000 from Columbus Nova, an affiliate of Viktor Vekselberg's Renova Group. Daniels was reportedly in talks to tell her account to both "Good Morning America" and "Slate" at the time.<ref name="Twohey_Rutenberg_1/12/2018"></ref> "The Daily Beast" also discussed with Daniels "after three sources—including fellow porn star Alana Evans—told the website that both Daniels and Trump were involved. Daniels ultimately backed out on November3, just five days before the 2016 election."<ref name="AP_1/13/2018"></ref> On January 16, CNN reported that Fox News reporter Diana Falzone wrote an article about Daniels  and Trump in October 2016, that Fox News never published. It included Daniels' then-manager Gina Rodriguez alleging on-the-record about a sexual relationship between them. CNN also reported that "Falzone had even seen emails about a settlement" between Daniels and Trump. "In Touch Weekly" published excerpts of a 2011 interview of Daniels alleging a 2006 extramarital affair with Trump the next day. The magazine described her account as being supported by a polygraph and corroborated by both her friend Randy Spears and her ex-husband Mike Moz. Although Cohen alleged that claims made in that interview were untrue  and previously published in "Life & Style" magazine on October 24, 2011, "The Daily Beast" described the interviews as "hardly identical". Although Daniels declined to comment to "Life & Style", the "In Touch Weekly" interview had direct quotes from Daniels. On January 18, "Mother Jones" reported that Daniels considered running to become the senator for Louisiana in 2009, identified Trump as a potential campaign donor to a political consultant, and described details of a sexual relationship with Trump. That consultant discussed Daniels' revelations to another consultant in emails that "Mother Jones" obtained and published. February 2018. On February 13, Cohen publicly acknowledged  paying Daniels $130,000 and said the payment was made with his own funds. He also said that neither The Trump Organization nor the campaign reimbursed him. Daniels' attorneys notified Cohen that by disclosing the payment Cohen was in breach of the NDA agreement, and so Daniels was no longer bound to it. March 2018. On March 5, "The Wall Street Journal" cited anonymous sources recounting Cohen as saying he missed two deadlines to pay Daniels since Cohen "couldn't reach Mr. Trump in the hectic final days of the presidential campaign" and that he complained that he had not  been reimbursed for the payment after Trump's election. Cohen described this report as "fake news". On March 6, Daniels filed a lawsuit against Trump in California Superior Court, claiming that the non-disclosure agreement never came into effect since Trump never signed it among other things. A complaint for declaratory relief, the suit seeks a judgment declaring that no agreement formed and for costs of the suit and other relief the Court deemed proper. The Court set a July hearing date. On March 7, NBC News reported that Cohen initiated an "ex parte" private arbitration case against Daniels on  February 27, 2018, and obtained a restraining order barring Daniels from disclosing "confidential information" related to the NDA agreement and stated that Daniels faces penalties for discussing her alleged relationship with Trump in public. Daniels' lawyers called the order bogus and was to remain confidential. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that President Trump's personal attorneys won an arbitration case "in the President's favor" against Daniels, and "there was no knowledge of any payments [to Daniels] from the President". On March 14, documents surfaced indicating that Jill Martin, assistant general counsel for The Trump Organization, signed legal  papers in connection with the restraining order against Daniels. On March 16, Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said on both CNN and MSNBC that Daniels had been threatened with physical harm if she was not silent about the alleged affair with Trump. Avenatti did not state when the threat was made, or who made it. On March 16, Cohen asked for Daniels' suit to move from the state to federal court, based on the criteria that the parties live in different places and the amount at stake is more than $75,000 with Trump's approval. Cohen asserted that Daniels could  owe up to $20 million in liquidated damages for breaching the agreement. The filing marked the first time that Trump himself, through his personal attorney, took part in the Daniels litigation. On March 25, Daniels' involvement with Trump was the subject of a segment on the U.S. television news program "60 Minutes". The segment included interviews by Anderson Cooper with Daniels, her attorney Avenatti, and Trevor Potter, the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission. Daniels said in her interview that she briefly spanked Trump with a copy of a "Forbes" magazine; had sex with Trump in the same  encounter; later met Trump privately but not had sex on that occasion; and signed multiple false statements that the affair was not under pressure from her former business manager–lawyer. She also said that, while she was getting her infant daughter out of their vehicle in a Las Vegas parking lot, an unknown man showed up at the vehicle car and said "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story. That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom".