Remember how Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 of his own money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the campaign so her past affair with Trump wouldn’t come out? And how there was question about exactly how often Cohen had paid people off for Trump using his own money, whether this was a campaign contribution, and what Trump knew about it? The Wall Street Journal continues to fill in the blanks of this story:
The bank used by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer to wire $130,000 to a former adult-film actress flagged the transaction as suspicious and reported it to the Treasury Department, according to a person familiar with the matter. [...]
Mr. Cohen said he missed two deadlines earlier that month to make the $130,000 payment to Ms. Clifford because he couldn’t reach Mr. Trump in the hectic final days of the presidential campaign, the person said. [...]
After Mr. Trump’s victory, Mr. Cohen complained to friends that he had yet to be reimbursed for the payment to Ms. Clifford, the people said.
There’s a lot here, from the transaction being flagged as suspicious to Trump not paying Cohen back in a timely manner (gee, surprise). Also:
And even more also:
City National Bank launched an internal inquiry of its own about the payment a year after [Stormy Daniels’ lawyer] Mr. Davidson received the funds in his client-trust account there, the person said. City National sought information about the source of funds wired to Mr. Davidson’s account, the person said. The inquiry was first reported by The Washington Post.
The one-year lag between the payment by Mr. Cohen and the bank inquiry is unusual. It suggests that City National received new information that prompted it to take a fresh look at the transaction, said Charles Intriago, a former federal prosecutor and money-laundering expert.
Hmmm … new information, like a federal investigation?