Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, negotiated a $1.6 million payment with a former Playboy model who said a top Republican donor and fundraiser impregnated her last year, the donor acknowledged Friday.
Cohen handled the settlement to the woman for Elliot Broidy, a venture-capitalist, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Broidy served as a deputy finance chairman for the Republican National Committee — along with Cohen – sources familiar with the situation said he had resigned from his post Friday after the news broke.
“I acknowledge I had a consensual relationship with a Playboy Playmate,” Broidy said in a statement. “At the end of our relationship, this woman shared with me that she was pregnant. She alone decided that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy and I offered to help her financially during this difficult period. We have not spoken since that time.”
The payment bars the woman, who is based in Los Angeles, from speaking about her relationship with Broidy. The money will be paid to her in quarterly installments and the first installment was due on Dec. 1, the Journal reported.
Broidy said he hired Cohen to handle the matter after being contacted by the woman’s attorney, Keith Davidson, because Cohen had informed him about prior relationship with Davidson. Davidson did not immediately respond to request for comment.
“It is unfortunate that this personal matter between two consenting adults is the subject of national discussion just because of Michael Cohen’s involvement,” said Broidy.
The report puts further scrutiny on Cohen, who had his home, office and a hotel room raided by FBI agents this week, and who the Department of Justice says is now under criminal investigation for his business dealings.
Cohen also serves as national deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. The RNC did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether he was still serving. In January, the former chairman of the committee, casino magnate Steve Wynn, resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
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Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com and Alana Abramson at Alana.Abramson@time.com