2016 ELECTION/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “Donald Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen said the president directed him to orchestrate hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign to women alleging affairs because he was concerned that those allegations might damage his electoral changes. Cohen, a longtime loyalist and fixer for Trump who flipped on the president earlier this year, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired Friday that Trump was ‘very concerned with how this would affect the election’ if the alleged affairs came to light. Trump, who initially claimed he did not know about the payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, has insisted that the payments were wholly unrelated to his 2016 campaign and therefore not illegal. He has also argued that if the payments were illegal, it was Cohen’s responsibility, not his, to know the law and therefore it is Cohen who would be legally liable. Cohen strongly disputed that defense.”
–Caitlin Oprysko, “Cohen: ‘Of course’ Trump knew hush money payments were wrong,” Politico, December 14, 2018 8:37 am