National Enquirer’s Yearslong Dealings With Trump Lawyer Fall Under Federal Scrutiny

Michael Cohen and the publisher of the National Enquirer forged an alliance over the years, looking out for the interests of Donald Trump and each other. Now, federal investigators are examining those ties as part of a wide-ranging probe into Cohen’s personal business dealings and his self-described role as Trump’s fixer. Cohen mediated a dispute between Omarosa Manigault-Newman, who had been a star onTrump’s “Apprentice” reality TV show, and the Enquirer over a story about her brother’s murder. He intervened in a separate legal case on behalf of David Pecker, chief executive of Enquirer parent American Media. And when American Media paid a doorman who alleged that Trump fathered a child with one of his employees, a company executive ordered reporters to stop investigating after speaking with Cohen. The revelations show a relationship characterized by mutual benefit and favor-trading on a greater scale than was previously known. The shared history could expose American Media, Cohen and by extension, Trump, to criminal campaign-finance charges.