Already under investigation for a payment to a porn star, President Donald Trump's longtime personal attorney is facing intensifying legal and ethical scrutiny for selling his Trump World experience and views at a hefty price to companies that sought "insight" into the new president.
One company, pharmaceutical giant Novartis, acknowledged yesterday it paid Michael Cohen USD 1.2 million for services, though they ended after a single meeting.
Others, including some with major regulatory matters before the new administration, acknowledged payments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars over at least several months.
The corporate ties could suggest Cohen was peddling his influence and profiting from his relationship with the president. They also raise questions about whether Trump knew about the arrangement.
Cohen's corporate ties were first revealed in a detailed report released by an attorney for pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels. The report alleged that Cohen used a company he established weeks before the 2016 election to receive the payments from a variety of businesses including USD 500,000 from one associated with a Russian billionaire.
Financial documents reviewed by the Associated Press appear to back up much of attorney Michael Avenatti's report.
Cohen's lawyers said late yesterday that much of the information released by Avenatti was "completely inaccurate."
Aventti responded on Twitter, saying the attorneys "fail to address, let alone contradict, 99 per cent of the statements in what we released. Among other things, they effectively concede the receipt of the USD 500,000 from those with Russian ties."
Novartis said in a statement that it paid Cohen USD 100,000 a month for a year-long contract, thinking the longtime New York legal "fixer" with few Washington ties could advise on health care matters. After a single meeting they decided "not to engage further."
"Michael offered that. He didn't do anything wrong, he did what lots of people have done over the years."
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