Michael Cohen plea deal: Former Trump lawyer worked to silence Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal 'at direction of the candidate'
Mr Trump's former lawyer did not specifically mention the president in his guilty pleas, which included admissions of bank and tax fraud
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Your support makes all the difference.Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has pleaded guilty to eight felony charges including tax evasion and campaign finance violations stemming from payments during the 2016 presidential campaign to women who claim they had an extramarital affair with the president.
During a court appearance in Manhattan on Tuesday, Mr Cohen told the judge that he was aware of what he was doing before pleading guilty to the charges, shocking those in attendance by admitting that he worked "at the direction of candidate" Trump to attempt to silence Karen McDougal — a former Playboy playmate who has claimed she had an affair with Mr Trump — in 2016, and worked "with and at the direction of the same candidate" to deliver a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her own claims of an affair.
Mr Cohen did not specifically use his former boss' name while pleading guilty, but he was employed by Mr Trump — then a presidential candidate — at the time of the payments.
Mr Cohen is known for his previously close relationship with Mr Trump, and has repeatedly been described as his "fixer" for difficult matters. That proximity means Mr Cohen could potentially create substantial legal headaches for Mr Trump, whose 2016 presidential campaign is being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for any potential cooperation with Russian election meddling.
The guilty pleas came just minutes apart from the first jury convictions of Mr Mueller's investigation, when former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on eight charges of bank or tax fraud at a federal courthouse in Virginia. Those chargers were not directly related to the president.
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Michael Cohen now faces up to 65 years in jail after reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors related to eight counts of campaign finance violations and fraud.
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer shook his head as the judge read the penalties he faced, reporters in the courtroom on Tuesday afternoon noted.
Michael Cohen admit to working “at direction of the candidate” when he collaborated with the National Enquirer to silence Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claimed to have an affair with Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
Mr Cohen also admit he worked “with and at direction of the same candidate” in providing a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the campaign.
Mr Trump has previously claimed to be unaware of the payments.
Michael Cohen’s court appearance ended on Tuesday when the president’s former personal lawyer left the courtroom on $500,000 bond. His sentencing is set for 12 December, where he faces a maximum of 65 years for all eight counts of campaign finance violations, tax evasion and fraud.
Meanwhile, a jury in Alexandria, Virginia found Mr Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort guilty on eight of the 18 tax and bank fraud charges he faced. The judge declared a mistrial on the remaining counts after the jury indicated it was unable to reach a consensus.
Catch up with The Independent’s coverage of the Manafort trial here.
In an unforgettable day for Donald Trump’s presidency, Michael Cohen has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors related to eight counts of tax evasion, campaign finance violations and fraud. The president’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was also found guilty on eight counts of bank and tax fraud, within minutes of news breaking surround Mr Cohen.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump was departing the White House for a rally minutes after both announcements were made. He ignored shouted questions from reporters and boarded Air Force One shortly after.
Mr Trump did not respond to Mr Cohen's guilty pleas when he got off of Air Force One in West Virginia for a rally, but said that the convictions against his former campaign manager in a separate courthouse on Tuesday were unrelated to him.
Stormy Daniels, one of the adult film actresses who has claimed she had an affair with Mr Trump over a decade ago, has weighed in on the guilty pleas of Mr Cohen.
In a statement provided to MSNBC, Daniels said: "Michael [Avenatti, her lawyer] and I are vindicated and we look forward to the apologies from the people who claimed we were wrong".
Mr Avenatti, meanwhile, weighed in with his own interpretation of what the Tuesday news means.
"Count 8 relates to my client, Stormy Daniels, and let me just say this: She has been vindicated this afternoon. I have been vindicated, based on what we have gone through over the last five to six months — what she has gone through — and I applaud her courageousness and her fortitude in coming forward," Mr Avenatti said on MSNBC.
"I think a lot of this stems from her courage and what she was willing to come forward and do," he continued. "The $130,000 payment, the count 8, absolutely, directly relates to her. That was the payment that was made to her, it relates to the president of the United States Donald Trump".
He then said that the guilty pleas of Mr Cohen helped his client's case and that he plans on using the admission from the lawyer to push forward with Daniels' case agains the president.
"The likelihood ... of me getting a deposition of the President of the United States under oath just went through the roof," he said. "No question about it".
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