I think it needs to be pointed out that this is likely complete BS. If Novartis wanted to cancel the contract with Cohen they would have simply stopped paying or manufactured some "cause" for breaking it.
Here's a far more likely explanation: Novartis made this payment to Cohen because they wanted to curry favor with Trump. Cancelling the contract could upset Trump & heighten the risk of being attacked by him on Twitter. So they likely figured it was better to pay Cohen
Let's not figure: during the transition Trump publicly attacked Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Ford, GM, Carrier and major pharma companies ... and their stock prices tumbled cnbc.com/2017/01/11/bio…
So if you're a major drug company or perhaps a telecommunications company with a merger that needs federal approval the last thing you want is for Trump to be attacking you on Twitter. So why not give his lawyer $1.2 million to hopefully stop that from happening
This is not to say that Trump and/or Cohen extorted these companies - "pay us or we'll disparage you on Twitter." But it explains why these companies will so willing to fork over huge sums to Cohen. They were protecting themselves.
has a few theories on what's going on here washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-lin…
Whether Trump purposely attacked companies and then Cohen squeezed them for cash is unknown. But the idea that Cohen kicked up this scheme without telling Trump seems very hard to believe.
Actually, let's consider for a moment the possibility that Trump and Cohen cooked up a scheme for him to attack companies on Twitter and cause their stock prices to tumble as a way to help Cohen's sales pitch for Essential Consulting
For such a ploy to be successful it would have to happen early in Trump's tenure, perhaps during the transition. So let's see who Trump has attacked and when ...
Carrier - Dec 1, 2016
Rexnord - Dec 2, 2016
Boeing - Dec 6, 2016
Lockheed Martin - Dec 22, 2016
General Motors - Jan 3, 2016
Toyota - Jan 5, 2017
Pharma companies - Jan 11, 2017
Delta - January 30, 2017
Rexnord - Dec 2, 2016
Boeing - Dec 6, 2016
Lockheed Martin - Dec 22, 2016
General Motors - Jan 3, 2016
Toyota - Jan 5, 2017
Pharma companies - Jan 11, 2017
Delta - January 30, 2017
Oh and I forgot that he attacked Nordstrom on February 8, 2017.
Now granted he's also attacked plenty of media companies and Amazon, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post.
Now granted he's also attacked plenty of media companies and Amazon, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post.
Trump also attacked a bunch of companies in August 2017, including Merck, after its CEO quit a presidential advisory board because of Trump's failure to condemn the Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville
But, by and large, Trump's attacks on big companies happened from December 2016 to February 2017, which is around the same time that Cohen was pitching his services ... and then largely stopped after that, with a few exceptions.
I'm sure this is just a coincidence
So here's something interesting: Trump attacks pharma companies in January 2017 ... Novartis hires Cohen in February 2017.
Here's something else interesting: AT&T had been paying Cohen all through 2017. The contract ended in December ... DoJ sued to block the company's merger with Time Warner in late November 2017.
And here's one more thing: Trump meets with South Korean president in Nov '17. The two discuss a bid by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) for a US defense contract ... later that month KAI gives Cohen $150,000. In December, Air Force announces decision on contract will be delayed
