MICHAEL COHEN/NEW YORK/TRUMP BUSINESS/WOMEN: “The Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York City may push for criminal charges against the Trump Organization and two senior officials at the company over hush money that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid to an adult-film actress, according to a report. Investigators led by District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. would look at how the company accounted for its reimbursement to Cohen for the $130,000 he paid to Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with President Trump, the New York Times reported. Two officials with knowledge of the matter told the Times that the possible action was still in its early stages and no decision has been made on whether the state investigators will go after the Trump Organization. The organization reportedly recorded the reimbursements to Cohen as a legal expense, but the former Trump attorney admitted Tuesday that he used the money to ensure the adult-film actress didn’t reveal the affair she allededly had with then-candidate Trump during the 2016 presidential election. According to prosecutors, the reimbursement payments were phony legal invoices that were connected to a nonexistent retainer agreement. Cohen reportedly issued sham monthly invoices for $35,000 in ‘pursuant to retainer agreement.’ The former Trump attorney, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges, didn’t actually do any legal work concerning the issue.”
–Lukas Mikelionis, “Trump Organization may face charges from New York DA’s office: report,” Fox News, August 23, 2018 7:30 pm