IRS analyst charged with leaking Cohen bank records to Michael Avenatti
- Zachary Basu, author ofAxios Sneak Peek
Michael Cohen and Michael Avenatti. Photos: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez; Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images
John Fry, an analyst with the Internal Revenue Service, was charged Thursday with leaking Michael Cohen's confidential bank records to Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti.
Why it matters: Avenatti posted a report on Twitter last May detailing payments that various firms made to a shell company Cohen set up called Essential Consultants — the same company Cohen used to pay off Daniels — for "insights into understanding the new administration." The companies included AT&T, Novartis and Columbus Nova, a U.S. investment firm with ties to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
Go deeper: Corporate America paid Michael Cohen millions, left with nothing