Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, announced that he has important information regarding money paid to Michael Cohen. He says that a Russian billionaire sent Trump’s former attorney $500,000.

Remember that Stormy Daniels is a porn actress who recently claimed that she was in an affair with Donald Trump in 2006. Cohen allegedly paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about the affair.

Proofs or Rumors?

Avenatti also stated that different companies deposited thousands of dollars into Cohen’s account. He names AT&T, a huge pharmaceutical company called Novartis, and Korea Aerospace. On Tuesday evening, AT&T confirmed the connection with Michael Cohen.

Michael Avenatti, however, didn’t release any documentation, and he didn’t reveal his source. He did present a seven-page memo, in which he detailed what he called wire transfers going out and into Cohen’s account. One of the transfers was to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 Presidential campaign.

Donald Trump denies that he was in any relationship with the porn actress.

Companies Not Hiding Payments

AT&T confirmed that they, in fact, did pay Michael Cohen in 2017. They say that they were seeking better understand the new administration. Michael Avenatti stated that AT&T paid a total of $200,000 to Cohen between late 2017 and early 2018.

AT&T said that Cohen didn’t do any lobbying or legal work for them and that they ended the contract in December 2017.

Korea Aerospace also confirmed that they had paid $150,000 to Cohen in November 2017 for a business deal.

Something is Off

Senior director of the Campaign Legal Center, Larry Noble, said that the arrangement that Avenatti described certainly doesn’t look good.

Noble states that he can’t understand why someone would hire the President’s private attorney for such a thing when he is not in the administration.

Issues for Concern

1. Why is an attorney supposedly handling non-legal affairs? Was Cohen acting on his own or did Trump consider him a general aide?
2. Did the President know that Cohen was accepting funds from these companies?
3. Did the President know about Cohen’s payment to Stormy Daniels?
4. What did AT&T, Korea Aerospace, and others hope to gain from their dealings with Cohen?
5. Does the supposed payment from a Russian billionaire help the state’s investigation concerning possible collusion between Trump and the Russian government?