On February 8, 2018, Cohen’s attorney Stephen Ryan wrote a letter to the Federal Election Commission regarding the alleged hush-money payment and reimbursement.
In the letter, obtained by the Daily Mail, Ryan alleged that “Mr. Cohen used his own personal funds” for the hush-money payment.
“In a private transaction in 2016, before the U.S. presidential election, Mr. Cohen used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford,” Ryan wrote. “Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly.”
The letter was sent in response to an FEC probe that was launched after numerous complaints alleging campaign finance were filed.