Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing porn star Stormy Daniels, charged Tuesday that money Daniels was paid by Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer, as part of a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement may have ties to Russia because the company that paid Daniels was later received money from a Russian businessman.
Avenatti surmised in a tweet Tuesday that because money from Russia was sent to the company after the Daniels payment, it may have been an attempt by Russia to repay Cohen. Avenatti offered no proof for his theory, which is at odds with the the explanation given by President Trump and his lawyers.
“After significant investigation, we have discovered that Mr. Trump’s atty Mr. Cohen received approximately $500,000 in the mos. after the election from a company controlled by a Russian Oligarc [sic] with close ties to Mr. Putin. These monies may have reimbursed the $130k payment,” Avenatti wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
After significant investigation, we have discovered that Mr. Trump’s atty Mr. Cohen received approximately $500,000 in the mos. after the election from a company controlled by a Russian Oligarc with close ties to Mr. Putin. These monies may have reimbursed the $130k payment.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 8, 2018
According to an executive summary compiled by Avenatti & Associates, Cohen received eight payments totaling approximately $500,000 between January and August 2017 from Viktor Vekselberg and his cousin Andrew Intrater.
The money was allegedly paid to Essential Consultants LLC, the same shell company Cohen to pay Daniels in October 2016, from a company called Columbus Nova LLC. Intrater, the document states, is CEO of Columbus Nova, which is used as the U.S. investment vehicle for the Vekselberg-controlled Renova Group.
The summary guessed that the money from Russia “may have replenished the account” after the Daniels payment.
But Michael Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, rejected the idea that there is any relationship between the two issues.
“I understand the shorthand you’re using, but it wasn’t a payment,” Ryan told the Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand
Michael Cohen’s attorney, Steve Ryan, won’t discuss the $500,000 Michael Avenatti says Cohen received from Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg in 2017. “I understand the shorthand you’re using, but it wasn’t a payment,” Ryan says before hanging up.
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) May 8, 2018
Columbus Nova also pushed back on Avenatti’s assertions, saying Vekselberg did not use the company to funnel money to Cohen.
“Columbus Nova is a management company solely owned and controlled by Americans. After the inauguration, the firm hired Michael Cohen as a business consultant regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real estate and other ventures,” Columbus Nova’s attorney Richard Owens said in a statement Tuesday.
“Reports today that Viktor Vekselberg used Columbus Nova as a conduit for payments to Michael Cohen are false. The claim that Viktor Vekselberg was involved or provided any funding for Columbus Nova’s engagement of Michael Coehn is patently untrue. Neither Viktor Vekselberg nor anyone else other than Columbus Nova’s owners, were involved in the decision to hire Cohen or provided funding for his engagement,” Owens continued.
Rudy Giuliani, another Trump attorney, said last week that Trump himself repaid Cohen months after Cohen paid Daniels. Giuliani told the New York Times he had evidence proving Trump personally paid the $130,000 sum through $35,000 monthly installments “some time after the campaign [was] over.”
In all, Trump gave Cohen $460,000 or $470,000 as part of their arrangement, which covered “incidental expenses” incurred on the president’s behalf, per the newspaper.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing to be released from the nondisclosure deal she signed days before the 2016 election, which bars her from openly discussing an alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump more than a decade ago. She is also suing Trump and Cohen for defamation.
