Trump had voiced opposition to the merger during the presidential campaign, and his administration ultimately opposed the AT&T effort. At the same time that he was collecting $50,000 a month from AT&T, Cohen was being paid large sums to advise other companies on a broad variety of issues, including the Affordable Care Act, accounting practices and real estate. Essential Consultants was the same company Cohen used in October 2016 to route money to Daniels in exchange for her agreement not to disclose an alleged affair with Trump. The New York Times first reported that Cohen offered advice on how AT&T should approach the administration about the Time Warner merger. Narasimhan joined the company in 2005 but did not take the helm of the global drug company until this February.

Source: Washington Post May 10, 2018 21:51 UTC