WASHINGTON _ Michael Cohen was in close contact with Donald Trump in 2016 as he arranged for hush-money payments to women who said they'd had affairs with the future president, according to court documents released Thursday.
An affidavit, used to obtain court approval for searches of Cohen's properties more than a year ago, cites phone records showing frequent communication between the two men as Cohen scrambled to enact the illegal scheme shortly before the 2016 election.
U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III ordered the documents revealed after prosecutors said they had finished their review of the payments that were aimed at preventing the women from revealing their claims of sexual affairs with Trump.
"The campaign finance violations discussed in the materials are a matter of national importance," Pauley wrote in his order Wednesday. "Now that the government's investigation into those violations has concluded, it is time that every American has an opportunity to scrutinize the materials."
Included in the documents was a previously sealed report _ filed by prosecutors earlier this week _ on the status of the investigation. They wrote that the government "has effectively concluded its investigations" of who besides Cohen "may be criminally liable" for campaign finance violations, and whether other people "made false statements, gave false testimony or otherwise obstructed justice in connection with this investigation." The identity of "certain individuals" who have not been charged were redacted.
The documents, however, raised new questions about the credibility of Hope Hicks, who served as a spokeswoman for Trump during his campaign and later as White House communications director.
According to the affidavit, Hicks told an FBI agent that she did not learn about allegations involving Trump's affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels until November 2016. But phone records show her in close contact with Cohen at critical times before the election. For example, within the same hour, Cohen talked separately with Hicks, Trump and executives at American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer and assisted in the scheme, according to the documents.
Lawyers for Cohen and Hicks did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the documents.
During closed-door testimony to the House Judiciary Committee last month, Hicks denied being present for any conversations between Cohen and Trump involving Daniels, one of the two women who said they'd slept with Trump.
Many of the documents released Thursday had been made available in March in heavily redacted form. Nearly 20 pages on what prosecutors described as "the illegal campaign contribution scheme" were concealed from court-approved warrants used on April 9, 2018, during searches of Cohen's home, hotel room and office.
Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other crimes, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. He eagerly cooperated with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III in the Russia investigation, which spawned the hush-money probe, but much to his dismay he has been the only person charged in connection with the payments.
"Why is Michael Cohen _ after all his voluntary cooperation and testimony that Mr. Mueller said was credible and went to 'core issues' and all the information and documents he voluntarily provided to prosecutors and to Congress _ the only member of the Trump company to be prosecuted and imprisoned?" said Lanny Davis, a spokesman for Cohen.
A detailed picture of the hush-money operation has already emerged in court filings and congressional testimony from Cohen, who appeared on Capitol Hill before starting his prison term in May.
Fearing that allegations of extramarital affairs could become public during the campaign, Cohen arranged payments to two women.
The National Enquirer, a tabloid run by a Trump ally, sent $150,000 to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate. Cohen personally paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a porn star. He was later reimbursed by Trump and his company, and prosecutors have said Trump himself directed the scheme.
Cohen's lawyer, Michael Monico, said he was surprised by prosecutors' decision to close the investigation without additional charges.
"I thought there was substantial and significant information by which they would be able to bring a case against others," he said.
Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, cheered the end of the investigation. Trump has repeatedly denied the affairs or wrongdoing despite being caught lying about his knowledge of the hush-money payments.
"We are pleased that the investigation surrounding these ridiculous campaign finance allegations is now closed. We have maintained from the outset that the president never engaged in any campaign finance violation," Sekulow said in a statement.
