NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the unsealing of court records related to the Michael Cohen investigation (all times local):
8 p.m.
The House Judiciary Committee is asking former White House aide Hope Hicks to clarify her June testimony to the panel after federal prosecutors in New York released documents detailing communications surrounding hush money payments made by President Donald Trump’s campaign in the weeks before the election.
The court records released Wednesday show a flurry of calls, including some between Hicks and Trump and between Hicks and Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. The Judiciary panel says the documents are inconsistent with Hicks’ testimony that she had no knowledge of the payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Hicks told the panel she wasn’t “present” for any conversations between Trump and Cohen about Daniels.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler asked Hicks to clarify her testimony no later than August 15.
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12:40 p.m.
Federal prosecutors in New York have decided not to file any additional charges in their investigation of illegal hush money payments orchestrated by President Donald Trump’s lawyer before the 2016 election.
That’s according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They were briefed on the decision but were not authorized to speak about it publicly.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty last year to violating campaign finance law by arranging payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal after they claimed they had affairs with Trump. Trump denies the allegations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan revealed Thursday that its investigation into Cohen’s campaign finance violations included an inquiry into whether other people gave false statements or obstructed justice - a broader scope than the office had previously acknowledged.
- By Associated Press writer Jim Mustian
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11:53 a.m.
Court records show that in the days leading up to the 2016 election, President Donald Trump spoke with aides rushing to squash stories about alleged affairs he had.
Search warrants unsealed Thursday shed new light on the president’s role as his campaign scrambled to respond to media inquiries about hush-money paid to two women who said they had affairs with Trump.
U.S. District Judge William Pauley ordered the materials unsealed this week after prosecutors said they had concluded their investigation into a scheme intended to protect Trump’s reputation as he ran for president.
The investigation involved payments Cohen helped orchestrate to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal after they claimed they had affairs with Trump.
Trump denies the allegations.
Cohen later pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations. He is serving a three-year sentence.
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