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Michael Cohen spent time in federal prison for violation of campaign finance laws for allegedly setting up hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels on behalf of Trump. He later sued the Trump Organization in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, and on Friday announced a settlement in the case had been reached days before the scheduled start of the trial. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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July 21 (UPI) — The one-time so-called “fixer” for Donald Trump before he became president, Michael Cohen, has settled with the Trump Organization for an undisclosed amount, it was disclosed on Friday.
Cohen, who spent time in federal prison for violation of campaign finance laws for allegedly setting up hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels on behalf of Trump, had sued the Trump Organization in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The trial was scheduled to start on Monday.
Hunter Winstead, an attorney for Cohen, and Michael D. Kiley, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told the court on Friday they had agreed on terms for a settlement. They said the settlement was not yet finalized and the details will be kept confidential.
State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen, who is not related to Michael Cohen, said he would delay the trial until the agreement is finalized.
Cohen said in a statement that the matter was resolved “in a manner satisfactory to all parties.”
He alleged the Trump Organization owed him about $1.3 million in unpaid legal fees as Trump’s outside counsel. Cohen said the organization refused to pay him once he started testifying against Trump in various investigations.
Cohen had worked for Trump for about two decades as executive vice president and general counsel and built a reputation as the real estate mogul’s “fixer” when disputes occurred. He also once was one of Trump’s closest advisers and allegedly arranged the hush-money payment for Daniels once he learned she was trying to sell her story ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000.
He later would tell federal investigators and a Congressional committee that he made the arrangement at the behest of Trump.