A top official for pharmaceutical giant Novartis is leaving the company following revelations it inked a contract with President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer for $1.2 million for healthcare advisory services.
Novartis said Wednesday that Felix Ehrat, the company’s group general counsel and a member of its executive committee, is retiring from the company, effective June 1.
The company said Ehrat decided to retire “in the context of discussions surrounding Novartis’ former agreement with Essential Consultants,” a company operated by Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer.
“Although the contract was legally in order, it was an error,” Ehrat said in a statement. “As a co-signatory with our former CEO, I take personal responsibility to bring the public debate on this matter to an end.”
Novartis’s contract with Cohen’s Essential Consultants was revealed last week in a document made public by Michael Avenatti, a lawyer representing former adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against Trump and Cohen. The document shows Novartis paid Essential Consultants monthly beginning in February 2017 for advice on matters relating to healthcare policy.
A spokeswoman for Novartis said this month the company had been questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and is cooperating with his office. FBI agents raided Cohen’s office, hotel room and home last month. Federal prosecutors obtained the search warrant based on a referral from Mueller.
Novartis was one of several companies, along with AT&T and Columbus Nova, that were named in the document published by Avenatti as having contracted with Essential Consultants and making payments to the firm from 2017 and into 2018.
AT&T acknowledged it paid Cohen’s company $600,000 for his services and called the agreement with Cohen a “big mistake.”
Though the contract with Essential Consultants was for one year, Novartis said it determined after a meeting with Cohen in March 2017 his company would be “unable to provide the services” it expected and decided “not to engage further.”
Because the pharmaceutical giant’s contract with Cohen’s firm could only be “terminated for cause,” Novartis continued to make payments to Essential Consultations until the contract ended in February 2018.
Top Senate Democrats are now pushing Novartis to turn over information about its contract with Cohen.
