The document, which could completely exonerate Trump from the allegations related to payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, was published on March 22 by The Daily Mail.
Cohen, a former Trump attorney and key witness in a case in which Trump reportedly faces imminent arrest, claims Trump forced him to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about his alleged affair with Trump, just days before. of the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen alleged during the investigation that Trump reimbursed him personal funds and later pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law regarding hush money.
But in a February 8, 2018 letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, wrote that “Cohen used his personal funds” and that “neither the Trump organization nor the Trump campaign were involved in dealing with Mrs. Clifford”. and neither directly nor indirectly reimbursed Mr. Cohen.”
The letter was written in response to an FEC investigation launched following allegations of campaign finance violations filed by Paul Ryan and Common Cause.
“In a private transaction in 2016, prior to the US presidential election, Mr. Cohen used his personal funds to pay $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford., — wrote Cohen’s lawyer, who worked at McDermott Will & Emery. — Neither the Trump organization nor the Trump campaign was involved in the deal with Ms. Clifford and neither directly nor indirectly reimbursed Mr. Cohen’s payment.”.
The letter also states that neither Cohen nor his firm, Essential Consultants LLC, have made in-kind contributions to any of Donald J. Trump’s campaign funds.
The letter to the FEC was sent months before Cohen went to prosecutors and pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations related to the hush-up payments, giving prosecutors leeway to argue that Cohen was still lying to protect your boss at the time.
Two months after the February 8, 2018 letter, rumors began to circulate that Cohen could go insane if serious charges were brought against him. However, campaign finance violation is still a misdemeanor. Cohen was charged with a criminal offense for tax evasion in the sale of licenses to work as a taxi driver in New York.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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