Why not? Pharma giant Novartis invested $1.2 million in Michael Cohen's "essential" consulting. AT&T handed over $600,000 to Cohen for his supposed expertise. So why not ask a Qatari investor—recently identified as Ahmed Al-Rumaihi—for a million dollars worth of access?
Al-Rumaihi had until now declined to go public with Cohen’s ask. But due to a mix of personal and professional reasons, writes Ryan Grim of The Intercept, he changed his mind.
In several conversations with The Intercept since March, al-Rumaihi talked about an encounter he had with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in December 2016. Al-Rumaihi said Cohen asked him for an upfront fee of $1 million for his services in the midst of their conversation about a potential Qatari investment in U.S. infrastructure.
Cohen said it was “untrue” that he had sought payment from al-Rumaihi. “These falsehoods and gross inaccuracies are only being written in the hopes of maligning me for sensationalistic purposes. The truth will prevail and will ultimately be proven in court and not by pundits,” Cohen said in a text message.
Cohen also called the Michael Avenatti document that broke his pay-to-play scheme wide open "inaccurate," even as the corporations admitted their payments.
But for now, put a pin in the name Ahmed Al-Rumaihi. He and the fact that he was representing the $100 billion wing of the Qatar Investment Authority (which also secretly bought a stake in the Russia oil giant Rosneft in a multibillion deal just after Trump’s election), may prove at some point to be an important part of a much bigger corruption story. We don’t have all the pieces yet, but if you want to read up on the possibilities, this Slate piece will give you a window.
Suffice it say, there’s going to be more to this story.
