Nov 9, 2018

WSJ: Prosecutors have evidence Trump personally involved in paying off mistresses

Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Trump directed or was personally involved in multiple payments of hush money to women claiming to have had sexual encounters with him — potentially breaking campaign finance laws, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: We’re now starting to get a picture of what Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, tabloid exec David Pecker and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg have been telling federal prosecutors, Axios' Jonathan Swan says.

What to know: New York City federal prosecutors wrote up an 80-page draft indictment in August to be used against Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, which outlined Cohen's coordination with undisclosed Trump campaign members via phone calls and meetings about the payments to women claiming sexual relationships. Sources familiar with the document told the Wall Street Journal that the unnamed campaign member was Trump himself.

How he did it:

In 2015, Trump asked American Media CEO Pecker to help him with his campaign. Pecker offered to use the National Enquirer to silence women who claim to have had sexual relationships with Trump, according to WSJ. He eventually paid $150,000 to model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump years before.
Cohen has also reportedly told prosecutors that he discussed with Trump the payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to it, and how to ensure it could not be traced back to the then-presidential candidate.

The bottom line: In order to be guilty of federal campaign finance crimes, Trump would have had to used more than $2,700 worth of campaign contributions from companies or individuals in these payments, Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, told WSJ.

Go deeper

Erica Pandey

America's funeral homes buckle under the coronavirus

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries in hot spots across America cannot keep up with the staggering death toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The U.S. has seen more than 10,000 deaths from the virus, and at least tens of thousands more lives are projected to be lost. The numbers are creating unprecedented bottlenecks in the funeral industry — and social distancing is changing the way the families say goodbye to their loved ones.

Go deeper51 mins ago - Health

Jonathan Swan, Margaret Talev

Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

The state of play: By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

Go deeperUpdated 1 hour ago - Health

Margaret Talev

Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: The virus hits home

Data: Ipsos/Axios poll; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

The share of Americans who know someone who's tested positive has more than tripled in just a few weeks, to 14%, according to the latest installment of our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

It's still highest in the Northeast, but last week alone it doubled in the South — and it's becoming most pronounced among people who still must leave home to work.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Health