Manhattan DA reportedly wants to see if Trump Organization falsified Stormy Daniels payment records


First, they came for President Trump's right-hand men. Now, they're coming for his business.
The Manhattan district attorney's office has launched an investigation into the Trump Organization, the collective of businesses owned by Trump, sources tell CBS News. And, like The New York Times revealed Thursday, the D.A. is considering pursuing criminal charges.
On Tuesday, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges of financial crimes, including violating campaign laws. The Manhattan investigation centers around Cohen's case, in which the ex-lawyer pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance rules by paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. The payment was made "at the direction of a candidate for federal office," Cohen said. Cohen also acknowledged arranging a payment to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani previously indicated Trump knew about and reimbursed Cohen for the payment. The D.A. is looking into business records from the reimbursement to see if they were falsified, CBS News says. The fact that this investigation is coming from a district office could have extra implications, as Trump couldn't pardon someone of state convictions, like he's reportedly considering doing with convicted federal felon Paul Manafort.
The news comes just hours after it was reported that the organization's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was granted immunity to speak with federal prosecutors. Read more about what a state investigation could mean for Trump here at The Week.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
August 2 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a tariff self-own, rough times at the Trump golf course, and more
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement