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Stephanie Clifford
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A consulting firm operated by Trump’s personal lawyer received US$150,000, possibly for lobbying purposes
Reports show that Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a company in South Korea’s defense industry, wired money to a shell company controlled by Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. The American newspaper has raised the possibility that this payment was aimed at lobbying Trump. On May 8, the New York Times reported 8 that KAI wired US$150,000 to Essential Consultants, a consulting firm operated by Cohen, in Nov. 2017. This fact turned up in the process of tracking the hush money given to porn actress Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels. Clifford is in the middle of a lawsuit against Trump. Trump is currently enmeshed in a sex scandal and allegations about Russian oligarchs who may be behind that scandal. In Oct. 2016, shortly before the presidential election, Cohen sent US$130,000 to Clifford on the condition that she remain silent about her sexual relationship with Trump. The bank account that Cohen used to send Clifford the money is the same one used by KAI. The American newspaper is stressing the possibility that this account was used to lobby Trump. “[KAI] has teamed with the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin in competing [. . .] to provide trainer jets for the United States Air Force,” the New York Times reported, adding that KAI had “declined to comment” about the payment. Clifford’s attorney Michael Avenatti also released a seven-page document detailing these transactions. Avenatti said that Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, had sent four payments totaling US$500,000 to the bank account in question between January and October of 2017 via an investment management company called Columbus Novo. Avenatti said that the money paid to Clifford is suspected of having originated with Vekselberg. Even though Vekselberg’s payment was made after Cohen gave Clifford the hush money, the allegation is that Cohen was eventually compensated by a Russian oligarch on Trump’s behalf. Other groups and people who exchanged money with Cohen through this account were telecommunications firm AT&T, multinational pharmaceutical firm Novartis and Elliott Broidy, former deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Columbus Novo responded to these allegations by claiming that the payment was a consulting fee that was unconnected with Vekselberg. During a phone call with the Hankyoreh, the KAI explained that its payment was made as part of a lawful contract for legal consulting about meeting cost accounting standards (CAS) in the US. By Kim Mi-na and Choi Ha-yan, staff reporters Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
