The Manhattan District Attorney's office is considering criminal charges against the Trump Organization and two senior officials in connection with the hush-money payment by President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to porn star Stormy Daniels, The New York Times reported.
An investigation would center on how the company accounted for its reimbursement to Cohen for the $130,000 he paid to the porn actress, who said she had an affair with Trump, the Times reported, citing two unnamed officials.
The Trump Organization recorded the reimbursement as a legal expense, the Times noted.
Manhattan prosecutors are focused on whether business records were falsified, the Times reported, which could be charged as a low-level felony, or as a misdemeanor.
The office's review of the matter is in its earliest stages and prosecutors have not yet made a decision on whether to proceed, the Times reported.
Meanwhile, the Times reported, as Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. considers opening an investigation, the New York State attorney general's office has moved to open a criminal investigation into whether Cohen has violated state tax law — an inquiry that would be unrelated to the federal tax evasion charges he pleaded guilty to Tuesday, the Times reported.
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