Federal Prosecutors Finish Campaign Finance Investigation Of Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen

A U.S. district judge announced Wednesday that prosecutors have finished the campaign finance probe into President Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen's hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and other women during the 2016 presidential election.

"The government now represents that it has concluded aspects of its investigation and justified the continued sealing of the portions of the materials related to Cohen's campaign finance violations," Manhattan Federal Judge William Pauley III wrote in an order.

Pauley also added that "the campaign finance violations discussed in the materials are a matter of importance."

The documents being released are related to the FBI's raid of Cohen's home in April 2018. Pauley said that he wants every American to have the opportunity to scrutinize the materials.

Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow on Wednesday called the investigation into campaign finance allegations "ridiculous."

"We have maintained from the outset that the President never engaged in any campaign finance violation," Sekulow said.

Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal claimed Trump had extramarital affairs with them and were paid to keep the affairs secret so it would not influence Trump's chances in the 2016 election.

Trump and his communications team have denied any sexual relationship with Daniels and McDougal.

Cohen, 52, who worked for Trump for roughly 12 years, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to eight counts, including campaign finance violations, tax evasion and bank fraud. He has cooperated with authorities in the investigation and also testified before Congress in February, where he called Trump a "racist" and a "con man."

In November, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower Moscow deal.

Documents filed with his guilty plea deal referred to the person on whose behalf Cohen had lied as "Individual 1." Before the House Oversight Committee in February, Cohen confirmed Individual 1 was Trump.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December and fined $50,000. He began his jail sentence in May.