Here's how deep N.Y. prosecutors went digging into Trump's hush money payments


It looks like ex-lawyer Michael Cohen wasn't the only line of defense in President Trump's alleged hush money payment scheme.
Manhattan prosecutors have already charged Cohen after investigating payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, and Cohen has pleaded guilty to those crimes. But in the still-ongoing case, New York investigators also interviewed former aide Hope Hicks and others deeper in Trump's "inner circle" than previously disclosed, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Cohen has long cooperated with the Southern District of New York in this case, revealing he paid $130,000 to Daniels to suppress her account of an affair with Trump. The National Enquirer has also said it bought former Playboy model McDougal's story of an affair for $150,000 to preserve Trump's reputation, and previous reports indicated National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was talking to prosecutors about the payment.
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.
Documents from the case obtained by the Journal show prosecutors talked with Hicks as well, asking if she "had coordinated with anyone" at Pecker's company to suppress the McDougal story. They reportedly found that she talked directly to Pecker after a Journal report threatened to expose the hush money payment to McDougal. Hicks also knew Pecker was "issuing a statement saying it had paid McDougal to contribute articles," the Journal writes.
Investigators also questioned Trump's former security chief, Keith Schiller, finding that he too talked to Pecker. But the Journal could not conclude if Schiller actually handed the phone to Trump during those conversations. When asked Wednesday if he knew prosecutors talked to Schiller, Trump said he has "no idea."
Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
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.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plunge
Speed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eatery
Speed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US