AT&T reportedly admits it paid President Donald Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, for "insights" about the administration.
According to CNBC, the telecommunications giant came forward Tuesday night after a lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels released a report claiming AT&T, along with Big Drug giant Novartis, and a Russian oligarch, had all made payments to Cohen's company.
In a statement to CNBC, AT&T said Cohen's company "was one of several firms we engaged in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration."
"They did no legal or lobbying work for us, and the contract ended in December 2017," AT&T said, CNBC reported.
The company did not say how much it paid Cohen, who was Trump's personal lawyer at the time.
The payments were revealed earlier Tuesday in a report by the law firm of Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for the adult-film actress who is suing the president and Cohen.
Avenatti's law firm claimed AT&T had made four separate payments of $50,000 apiece to Cohen's company, Essential Consultant, in late 2017 and early 2018, CNBC reported.
The company was created by Cohen in October 2016 and soon after, was used to make a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, according to CNBC.
Avenatti's law firm report also contends Novartis in late 2017 and early 2018 made four separate payments to Essential Consultants totaling nearly $400,000, CNBC reported.
The report also said a company controlled by an oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Viktor Vekselberg, sent payment of $500,000 to Cohen in the months after the election.
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