Trump might have been able to avoid any conviction if he hadn’t been so stingy in his dealings. This is the first time that a former US president has been convicted of a crime, on a total of 34 counts. What is surprising is that these charges involve relatively modest amounts. In reality, the crux of the case is a $130,000 payment that Trump balked at making, eventually having his lawyer cover it.
An article by Dan Alexander for Forbes US – translated by Lisa Deleforterie
Trump, whose fortune is currently estimated at $7.1 billion (€6.5 billion), was certainly not short of money. His miserly attitude was highlighted by prosecutors, who began their case by presenting testimony from David Pecker, who was responsible for covering Trump’s expenses. During a meeting in August 2015, the tabloid executive agreed to work with Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to remove incriminating articles about the real estate mogul during his presidential campaign.
Initially, the deal worked out well for Trump. Mr. Pecker paid $30,000 to buy a story, later proven false, that Trump had a child with a Trump Tower housekeeper. Thinking Trump would pay him back, Mr. Pecker spent another $150,000 of his company’s money to silence Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate who claimed she had an affair with Trump. However, election laws are complex, and after a last-minute conversation with his company’s general counsel, Mr. Pecker decided to cancel the reimbursement agreement. He never got the money back.
When porn star Stormy Daniels claimed to have had sex with Trump, Mr. Pecker informed Mr. Cohen that he would no longer fund anything. “ I am not a bank “, did he declare. Trump had his own reservations about handing over the funds. Mr. Cohen then negotiated a settlement with Ms. Daniels’ lawyer, but Trump was reluctant to pay the money. Ms. Daniels’ lawyer then predicted a media frenzy in a text exchange with the editor of the National Enquirer. “ I think it will be a shock campaign “, he wrote. “ All because Trump is too greedy », replied the editor-in-chief.
Meanwhile, two Trump staffers, Mr. Cohen and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, were trying to find money to keep the deal going. They decided that one of them should make the initial payment. According to Mr. Cohen, Mr. Weisselberg hesitated, citing the cost of sending his grandchildren to prep school and summer camp. Ultimately, Mr. Cohen went ahead and used a loan on his house to wire $130,000 to Ms. Daniels’ lawyer on October 27, 2016, 12 days before the presidential election.
Trump’s financial strategy in the spotlight
Mr. Cohen also encountered difficulty getting reimbursed from Mr. Trump. At the end of the year, while still waiting to be reimbursed for the payment to Ms. Daniels, Mr. Cohen learned that Trump had cut his bonus from $150,000 to $50,000. “ It was insulting said Mr. Cohen, who rushed into Mr. Weisselberg’s office, furious. Mr. Cohen remembers Mr. Weisselberg telling him: “ Calm down. You know Mr. Trump cares about you. We will do what it takes for you. We will make sure you are taken care of “.
Exactly how Michael Cohen would be repaid became clear in January 2017, days before Trump became president. According to his former lawyer, the plan called for Trump to reimburse him for the $130,000 for the payment to Ms. Daniels and $50,000 for an additional expense, then double that to $360,000 to account for taxes, before add $60,000 as a sort of excuse bonus. The total would amount to $420,000, paid in monthly installments of $35,000 (on Trump’s proposal). To conceal the true nature of the payment, Mr. Cohen presented invoices suggesting that he received fees. These invoices resulted in ledger entries and checks, several of which were personally signed by Mr. Trump, which served as the basis for indicting the former president for falsifying business records.
It was around this time that Trump offered Cohen another benefit. He appointed him his personal lawyer as president, a position Cohen knew was unpaid. However, he also knew he could profit from this new title by selling consulting and advisory services to various clients. He said he was able to turn that unpaid position into deals worth about $4 million, at no extra cost to his boss.
In 2018, that arrangement began to unravel when the FBI raided Mr. Cohen’s apartment and office. He called Trump, who told him: “ Don’t worry. I am the president of the United States. Everything will be alright. You will get through this. » This was the last time Cohen spoke directly with Trump.
Mr. Pecker may not have had as sharp a difference with the former president, but he nevertheless provided damning testimony at Mr. Trump’s trial. “ His approach to money was very careful and very frugal “, did he declare.
Prosecutors included this notion in their filing. “ Trump believed in saving money said Matthew Colangelo of the prosecutor’s office in his opening statement. “ He believed in watching every dollar. He believed in negotiating every bill. This is what emerges from all the books he has written. He ran the Trump Organization with complete control. He placed considerable importance on results. »
“ When it came to reimbursing Michael Cohen for the “catch and kill” deal, he didn’t negotiate the price down; he doubled it. And he doubled it so they could disguise it as income. You’ll hear evidence that the Trump Organization didn’t have a history of paying people double what they owed for anything. This may be the only time this has happened. Donald Trump’s willingness to do this here shows how important it was to him to hide the true nature of Michael Cohen’s illegal payment to Ms. Daniels and the overall election conspiracy », added Mr. Colangelo.
Also read: Trump’s fortune plummets after conviction for falsifying documents
