Michael Cohen Reportedly Arranged Yet Another Huge Payoff to Cover Up GOP Sleaze

President Donald Trump’s longtime attorney and fixer Michael Cohen seems to be the go-to guy for rich Republicans trying to keep their adultery quiet. According to a new report published Friday by the Wall Street Journal, Cohen arranged for a former Playboy model to receive $1.6 million in late 2017 in exchange for her silence about a sexual relationship with Republican National Committee Deputy Finance Chairman Elliot Broidy. The revelation comes as Cohen is currently embroiled in a lawsuit over a similar payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Cohen did not comment on the alleged payment. Nor did an attorney for the woman, who was not identified by the Journal. However, in a statement to the paper, Broidy confirmed the affair, admitting to having offered the woman money after she notified him that she’d become pregnant as a result:

I acknowledge I had a consensual relationship with a Playboy Playmate. At the end of our relationship, this woman shared with me that she was pregnant. She alone decided that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy and I offered to help her financially during this difficult period.

He also admitted Cohen’s presence in the matter, though he didn’t specify his role, writing, “It is unfortunate that this personal matter between two consenting adults is the subject of national discussion just because of Michael Cohen’s involvement.”

According to Journal sources familiar with the Broidy payment, the language used in the agreement echoes that of the one used in the Daniels case, down to the use of the names David Dennison and Peggy Peterson as aliases for the men and women involved.

Cohen’s involvement in the Daniels case has become one of the latest legal minefields for President Trump and his associates, as federal investigators have begun looking into whether the payment to Daniels constituted an illegal campaign contribution to Trump’s election efforts. (Trump has denied knowing about the payment.)