Article snippet: For the first time, federal prosecutors in New York on Friday said that MORE directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to make two illegal payments during the 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York connected Trump to the illegal payments in the latest filing in the case involving his longtime lawyer and fixer. The document states that Cohen "acted in coordination with and at the direction of" Trump before the election in steering payments to silence Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, two women claiming they had affairs with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affairs. The latest filing does not explicitly name Trump, but makes numerous references to an "Individual-1" who it states in January 2017 " ADVERTISEMENT pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance violations, among other counts involving bank and tax fraud. But the filing Friday is the first time prosecutors have also tied Trump to the illegal payments. suing the National Enquirer over its ownership of the story of her alleged affair and is suing Cohen and Trump for defamation for denying her allegations. was granted. This payment violates campaign finance law prohibitions against donations over $2,700 in a general election. Daniels is also suing Trump regarding the 2016 nondisclosure agreement about her alleged affair with Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed the Cohen filing on Friday, arguing it reve... Link to the full article to read more