The former lawyer for two women who were paid to keep silent about their alleged affairs with President Donald Trump over a decade ago is cooperating with federal investigators, it has been learned.
Keith Davidson negotiated non-disclosure agreements on behalf of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
Federal authorities have now asked Davidson for information related to the criminal investigation against Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer.
News of Davidson’s cooperation was first reported on Friday by The Washington Post.
Keith Davidson (above), the former lawyer for two women who were paid to keep silent about their alleged affairs with President Donald Trump over a decade ago, is cooperating with federal investigators, it has been learned
Federal authorities have now asked Davidson for information related to the criminal investigation against Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer
Davidson negotiated a non-disclosure agreement on behalf of Stormy Daniels (above) – a porn star who says she had sex with Trump over a decade ago
Davidson was also the attorney for Karen McDougal (above), the former Playboy Playmate who says she and Trump had a 10-month affair
A spokesperson for Davidson told the Post that the attorney provided ‘certain limited electronic information’ to FBI agents.
Davidson ‘will continue to cooperate to the fullest extent possible under the law,’ said spokesperson Dave Wedge.
Cohen has been at the center of a controversy over a $130,000 payment he has admitted making shortly before the 2016 election to porn star Daniels, who has said that she had sex once with Trump in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet about it.
McDougal, a former Playboy model, has described having a 10-month affair with Trump, which the White House has said Trump denies.
McDougal said her lawyer at the time, Davidson, secretly negotiated with Cohen on a deal with American Media Inc, publisher of the National Enquirer, which paid her $150,000 in 2016 to keep quiet.
On Wednesday, McDougal reached an agreement with AMI freeing her from the nondisclosure deal and allowing her to speak about her relationship with Trump.
McDougal sued the company because it alleged that it colluded with Cohen to muzzle her by buying the rights to her story and then declining to run it — a practice in tabloid journalism known as ‘catch and kill.’
On April 9, FBI agents working out of the Southern District of New York raided Cohen’s offices and seized materials.
It is likely that these agents got their hands on evidence related to AMI’s dealings with McDougal, according to The New York Times.
Cohen is being investigated by the federal government for a litany of crimes, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and campaign finance violations.
Among the items taken by agents were tapes of recorded conversations between Cohen and Davidson, according to CNN.
Davidson was also the lawyer for a Playboy Playmate who received $1.6million to keep quiet about being impregnated by GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy (right)
A source tells CNN Cohen recorded some of his calls with Davidson, who no longer represents either of the women, but the deals done to keep their stories from becoming public are now playing out in litigation, with each of the women wanting to be released from their agreements.
Another source says in at least one conversation between the two men, ‘Cohen was being unusually simplistic, like he had bullet points that he was reading from to try and make himself look good. He was trying to clarify the timeline of the agreements made with Davidson in his (Cohen’s) favor.’
Wedge said that Davidson never consented to having his conversations with Cohen recorded and that if tapes exist, ‘Davidson will pursue all his legal rights under the law.’
Cohen has denied any wrongdoing, however if he chooses to cooperate under the pressure of the investigation rather than fight the case, his knowledge of the president’s dealings could create serious problems for Trump as special counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation.
It was also learned last week that Cohen arranged for a $1.6 million payment to a Playboy Playmate to keep secret her sexual relationship with Republican fundraiser and Trump ally Elliott Broidy, during which she became pregnant.
The playmate in the Broidy payment was also represented by Davidson.