Trump ‘directed illegal hush-money payments’, prosecutors claim
- For the first time, prosecutors have tried to link US president to a federal crime, for not declaring payments made for ‘influencing’ an election
The Justice Department says President Donald Trump directed illegal payments to buy the silence of two women whose claims of extramarital affairs threatened his presidential campaign – the first time prosecutors have claimed Trump is connected to a federal crime.
In a court filing, prosecutors said former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen arranged the secret payments at the height of the 2016 campaign “in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump. Cohen has previously said Trump was involved in the hush-money scheme, but court documents filed before Cohen’s sentencing made clear prosecutors believe the claim.
The filing stopped short of accusing the president of committing a crime. Whether a president can be prosecuted while in office is a matter of legal dispute.
But there’s no ambiguity in Friday’s filing that prosecutors believe Cohen’s act was criminal and Trump was directly involved, a remarkable disclosure with potential political and legal ramifications for a president dogged by investigations. The payments are likely to be a target for House Democrats who want to investigate the president next year. It’s unclear whether Trump faces legal jeopardy over his role.
Federal law requires any payments made “for the purposes of influencing” an election must be reported in campaign finance disclosures. The court filing on Friday makes clear the payments were made to benefit Trump politically.
