In the final month of the campaign, a deal with Ms. Daniels was hashed out, but it did not go smoothly. Mr. Pecker refused to pay her, leaving the responsibility on Mr. Trump and, ultimately, Mr. Cohen. Mr. Trump was slow to make a decision, hoping that the threat would go away after Election Day. Mr. Cohen did everything he could to stall Ms. Daniels’s lawyer, even going so far as to use the holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, as an excuse. However, Ms. Daniels became impatient and threatened to walk away, leading Mr. Cohen to pay her out of his own pocket. He informed Mr. Trump immediately once the deal was closed in order to protect him, as he had done for a long time. This ultimately paid off, as Mr. Trump won the election a few days later.
Despite his loyalty and efforts to protect Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen’s patience wore thin when he was not awarded a job in Washington and received what he felt was an insultingly small bonus. He expressed his frustration to Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, who promised to increase the bonus and reimburse him for the hush money paid to Ms. Daniels. Mr. Weisselberg devised a plan, which was documented in notes displayed in the courtroom, and Mr. Trump allegedly approved it. When asked if Mr. Weisselberg showed the document to Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen confirmed that he did and that Mr. Trump approved it.
The reporting of this situation was a collaborative effort by Kate Christobek, Alan Feuer, Jesse McKinley, Jonathan Swan, and Wesley Parnell.
