Matters seem to continually be going from bad to worse and then getting even more worse for the president’s former lawyer and self-proclaimed “fixer,” Michael Cohen.

The most recent news involves a federal DOJ subpoena to American Media, the publisher of the National Enquirer. Apparently, before the Stormy Daniels debacle, Karen McDougal, the Playboy Playmate of the Year for 1998 received a $150K payment from the “news” company to buy the exclusive rights to her story. Curiously, the news company never published the story, performing what is known in the industry as a “catch and kill.”

The criminal investigation seems to be focusing on whether that payment to McDougal was a campaign finance violation. Clearly the $150,000 payment, if considered a campaign contribution would dwarf the $5,400 limit on individual contributions.

While the deal seems to be set up to insulate exposure to Trump’s campaign, it is hard to deny the fact that performing a “catch and kill” of a story alleging an affair with a presidential candidate is anything other than a campaign contribution.

Complicating the matter, the McDougal deal included a provision for the company to have exclusive rights to publish a fitness column authored by McDougal, as well as the exclusive right to any story about her relationship with a married man.

And if you thought the situation couldn’t get any stickier, President Trump allegedly is friends with the National Enquirer’s publisher David Pecker … which really makes you wonder given Trump’s staunch stance on “fake news” and the National Enquirer’s reputation for printing it.

Related Resources:

  • FBI Seizes Trump-Cohen Attorney-Client Privileged Docs (FindLaw’s Strategist)
  • Ethics Quiz: Was It OK for Trump’s Lawyer to Say He Paid Stormy Daniels? (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)
  • Can Trump’s Lawyers Testify Against Him? (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)

You Don’t Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer’s Help

Civil Rights

Block on Trump’s Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court

Criminal

Judges Can Release Secret Grand Jury Records

Politicians Can’t Block Voters on Facebook, Court Rules