AT&T paid Essential Consultants LLC, a firm set up by Cohen, a total of $600,000 US in 2017 for advice on working with the Trump administration. AT&T said Cohen and others were hired to help navigate "a wide range of issues," including its proposed $85-billion merger with Time Warner Inc., AT&T said in the memo seen by Reuters. AT&T said in the memo it did not hire Cohen to lobby on its behalf. Novartis paid $1.2M for 1 meetingThe AT&T payments were revealed by Michael Avenatti, lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The pharmaceutical giant Novartis acknowledged Wednesday it paid Cohen $1.2 million for services, though the relationship ended after a single meeting.

Source: CBC News May 11, 2018 19:09 UTC