Trump's personal lawyer accused of receiving $500,000 from Russia
Attorney Michael Cohen is accused of taking money from a Russian billionaire, part of which was used to cover hush money for a porn star with ties to Trump.
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Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer. Photo: Reuters |
"Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen will have a lot of explaining to do," CNBCMichael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, said yesterday. Mr. Avenatti accused Michael Cohen, the personal lawyer for US President Donald Trump, of receiving $500,000 from Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg within three months of the 2016 US presidential election.
Avenatti said the money was the result of a personal investigation. He claimed that part of the money was used to offset the $130,000 Cohen paid to silence porn star Daniels.
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis was also accused of transferring nearly $400,000 to Cohen’s company, just before Trump met with the new Novartis CEO. The company has not commented on Avenatti’s statement.
This is just one of a series of accusations Avenatti has made against the US President and lawyer Cohen since porn star Stormy Daniels decided to sue Trump.
Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had sex with Trump in July 2006, shortly after Melania Trump gave birth to their son, Barron. She said she was threatened and asked to accept money to keep quiet. Daniels wants to be released from a non-disclosure agreement with Cohen, which she says is invalid because Trump did not sign it.