![]() But the Justice Department has a policy of not pursuing indictments against a sitting president, and that's when the Manhattan DA started investigating about five years ago. And Cohen later described being repaid by the president in installments, checks with Trump's signature on them. They said Cohen acted at the direction of individual one, a person who they did not name but who was very clearly Trump. ![]() MARRITZ: Federal prosecutors were very clear in Cohen's case. RASCOE: But there haven't been any repercussions for Trump personally thus far. It was an illegal federal campaign contribution. Remember, Michael Cohen went to jail for his part in all this. The payment could constitute falsifying business records, which could be a felony if it can be shown this was in service of an illegal campaign donation under New York law. And this is the fact pattern that we believe is at the heart of the grand jury investigation. Trump later reimbursed Cohen for what was described as legal expenses. And Cohen bought Stormy Daniels' story through a shell company. MARRITZ: In the end, the National Enquirer bought McDougal's story and did not publish it. MICHAEL COHEN: When it comes time for the financing, which will be.ĬOHEN: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You'll hear Cohen and Trump discussing how to buy the story so they can make sure it never gets out. What you're going to hear is a conversation Trump and Cohen had not about Stormy Daniels but about another woman, Karen McDougal, who had a similar story about an alleged affair with Trump. I want to play you a piece of tape secretly recorded by Trump's fixer at the time, Michael Cohen. Obviously, this kind of information would have been bad for candidate Trump. And during the 2016 presidential campaign, she was looking for a buyer for her story. MARRITZ: Stormy Daniels claims she had an affair with Trump. So it's been widely reported that DA Bragg has been presenting evidence to a grand jury about hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. RASCOE: I guess we know about that next chapter now. ![]() He said, this sentencing closes this chapter into the investigation of former President Trump and his business. MARRITZ: The next thing DA Bragg said seemed a little cryptic at the time. Bragg spoke in January just after sentencing.ĪLVIN BRAGG: This historic sentencing serves or should serve as a reminder to all in New York, both companies in their corporate form and their executives, that this type of conduct in New York will not be tolerated and will be held accountable. It's being led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who already won a conviction against Trump's family business for long-running tax fraud late last year. This investigation is the longest-running of all of them, and it reaches back to 2016. Then there's the federal investigation connected with that election and also classified documents Trump took to Mar-a-Lago. Well, there's one investigation by a local prosecutor in Atlanta into Trump's pressure campaign on Georgia officials to move the state into his column in the 2020 election. Remind us where this one fits in in the bigger picture. RASCOE: This has to be a pretty busy beat for you, I would imagine, Ilya, because there are several criminal investigations surrounding the former president. NPR's Ilya Marritz covers Trump legal matters and joins us now. He's been invited to testify before a grand jury in New York this week, a move that's seen as a likely prelude to an indictment. Donald Trump could soon become the first former president in U.S.
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