Hush Money Payment to Stormy Daniels
🟡 Fraud & Financial Crime ·
Oct–Nov 2016
Summary
Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election, through a shell company in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement covering an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. Trump reimbursed Cohen through 11 monthly payments disguised in Trump Organization business records as legal services. Manhattan prosecutors argued the payments were election interference designed to keep material information from voters during the final weeks of the campaign. Trump was indicted in April 2023 on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal the payment, convicted on all counts in May 2024, and became the first U.S. president convicted of a felony. Trump denied the affair and the underlying conduct throughout.
Key Figures
Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels
Institutions Involved
Sources
- People of The State of New York v. Trump (1 -23-cv-03773)
- Trump avoids punishment at hush-money sentencing
- Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Eight Counts - Including Criminal Tax Evasion And Campaign Finance Violations