AT&T confirmed Tuesday evening that it paid President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017 for "insights into understanding the new administration." Avenatti alleged that Essential Consultants, a shell company set up by Cohen before the election to pay Daniels, was paid by several corporations, including AT&T. At the time, AT&T was seeking government approval for its acquisition of Time Warner, CNN's parent company. But the timing of payments to a Trump lawyer is especially significant because of the AT&T-Time Warner deal. When Trump won the election, there were immediate questions about whether the deal would be blocked by the Trump administration's Justice Department.

Source: CNN May 08, 2018 23:01 UTC