Turns out, Donald Trump not only knew about the hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, payments that were meant to conceal their affair before the 2016 election, he personally ordered his son, Eric, and his attorney Michael Cohen to get a restraining order against her to keep her from going public with the story of their affair. From the Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Trump told Mr. Cohen to coordinate the legal response with Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, and another outside lawyer who had represented Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization in other matters, the people said. Eric Trump, who is running the company with his brother in Mr. Trump’s absence, then tasked a Trump Organization staff attorney in California with signing off on the arbitration paperwork, these people said.
Direct involvement of the president and his son in the effort to silence Ms. Clifford hasn’t previously been reported. The accounts of that effort recently provided to The Wall Street Journal suggest that the president’s ties to his company continued into this year and contradict public statements made at the time by the Trump Organization, the White House and Mr. Cohen.
Covering up an affair with a porn star is apparently a family affair. And what about those lines that aren’t supposed to be crossed between the Trump White House and the private company where the other conspirators worked? No worries says anonymous person “close to the situation.” Everyone was doing this on their own time. Nothing to worry about here. Nope.
A person close to the situation said Eric Trump had acted as the president’s son and not in his role as a company executive. The Trump Organization declined to comment. Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Mr. Cohen, declined to comment.
In March, the Trump Organization denied any role in the arbitration, saying its lawyer assisted in her “individual capacity.”
Who doesn’t know lawyers who do side jobs for their bosses to silence adult film stars on their personal time? What a hobby!
Despite nearly two years of denials, it is clear that Donald Trump repeatedly lied to the American people. His former attorney, Michael Cohen, has already plead guilty to two felony charges related to the Stormy Daniels’ hush money payments, payments he says Donald Trump personally directed him to make. And now we know he was directing Eric Trump and Trump Organization attorneys to work behind-the-scenes to silence Stormy Daniels, once again blurring any lines between President Donald Trump and his company. With Don Jr. actively on the campaign trail, promoting Republican candidates and raising money and Eric Trump’s endless coordination with the pro-Trump Make America Great Again PAC, all while luring foreign governments and American businesses to spend big at Trump’s D.C. hotel and other golf properties, is there really any separation at all?