President Trump’s legal team claimed victory after a federal judge in Manhattan said Wednesday that an investigation into hush-money payments arranged by his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen — which Cohen claims Trump directed — had concluded.
Details: U.S. District Judge William Pauley made the remarks in a court order directing the release of documents by 11am Thursday relating to 2 women who said they had sexual encounters with Trump. The president denies their claims and Cohen's. Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement he's "pleased" the probe into "these ridiculous campaign finance allegations" is closed," per Reuters.
The big picture: Cohen is serving a 3-year prison sentence after being convicted of charges involving campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress. He entered into a plea deal with prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and also the Mueller investigation in the case.
What they're saying: Lanny J. Davis, an attorney for Cohen, issued a statement after the judge made the order concerning the investigation into payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
