He says it was a “simple private transaction.” Federal prosecutors beg to differ.
President Donald Trump began his week by trying to downplay illegal hush payments to women made late in the 2016 presidential campaign — ones that federal prosecutors now say he directed and coordinated — as a mere “simple private transaction.”
“‘Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun… No Collusion.’ @FoxNews” Trump tweeted (typos his). “That’s because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,…”
Fourteen minutes later, Trump finished his thought, writing in a second tweet, “….which it was not (but even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE, like Obama’s — but it was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine. Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me). Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!”
The payments in question were made to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels — two women who have said they had affairs with Trump.
In McDougal’s case, the rights to her story were purchased in August 2016 for $150,000 by American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, whose publisher is a longtime friend of Trump’s. After paying McDougal, the Enquirer did nothing with her story — a practice in the tabloid industry known as “catch and kill.”
Daniels was paid $130,000 in October 2016 as part of a nondisclosure agreement. In August, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations related to the payments and said in federal court that he made them at Trump’s direction.
