RETUERS/Aaron Bernstein
The bank used by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 flagged the transaction as suspicious and alerted the Treasury Department, a source told the Wall Street Journal. Daniels received the wire transfer from First Republic Bank in October 2016, 12 days before the presidential election. It is not clear when First Republic Bank flagged the transaction and reported it to the Treasury Department. Cohen reportedly missed two deadlines to pay Daniels because he couldn’t get in touch with Trump in the lead up to the election. Cohen paid the $130,000 out of his own pocket as part of an agreement that bars Daniels from talking about her alleged 2006 affair with then-candidate Trump. He reportedly complained to friends when he was not immediately reimbursed after the election. When contacted by the Journal for comment, Cohen offered a very brief statement: “Fake News.”