Report: Prosecutors subpoena Trump Organization over Stormy Daniels hush money
The Manhattan district attorney's office has subpoenaed the Trump Organization, requesting documents related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, several people briefed on the matter told The New York Times Thursday.
Daniels said she had an affair with Trump in 2006, and shortly before the 2016 presidential election, his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence. The Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen, and the Times reports prosecutors are looking into whether any senior executives filed false business records, claiming the reimbursement was a legal expense. Trump Organization attorney Marc Mukasey told the Times this is a "political hit job."
Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations in connection with the hush money case and is now serving time in prison, also worked with the National Enquirer to arrange a payout for another woman who said she had an affair with Trump. Playboy model Karen McDougal was paid $150,000 for her story, which was never published. The Manhattan D.A.'s office also sent American Media Inc., the Enquirer's publisher, a subpoena on Thursday, the Times reports. The company's CEO, David Pecker, is one of Trump's longtime friends.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Could smaller cars bring down vehicle prices?Today’s Big Question Trump seems to think so, but experts aren’t so sure
-
2025’s most notable new albumsThe Week Recommends These were some of the finest releases of the past year
-
Trump aims to take down ‘global mothership’ of climate scienceIN THE SPOTLIGHT By moving to dismantle Colorado’s National Center for Atmospheric Research, the White House says it is targeting ‘climate alarmism’
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
