Report: Michael Cohen signed $1.2 million deal with drugmaker to provide access to Trump
President Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, reportedly signed a $1.2 million contract with drugmaker Novartis in February 2017 on the promise that he could help the company gain access to the president and administration insiders. "He reached out to us," a Novartis employee told Stat, adding: "It was almost as if we were hiring him as a lobbyist."
On Tuesday night, The New York Times initially reported that Cohen's Essential Consultants LLC had at least $4.4 million pass through it, including $500,000 from Columbus Nova, a New York investment firm with deep ties to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Documents provided by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, showed some $400,000 from Novartis passed through Essential Consultants between early 2017 and 2018. Vekselberg and officials at Novartis have reportedly been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team.
In a statement, Novartis said it "cooperated fully" and "provided all the information requested." Cohen is under federal investigation for financial crimes.
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Novartis eventually let its one-year contract with Cohen expire after a disappointing meeting with him in March 2017. "At first, it all sounded impressive, but toward the end of the meeting, everyone realized this was probably a slippery slope to engage him," the Novartis employee told Stat. Read more about Cohen's contract here.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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