On Oct. 25, 2016, National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard made a push to restart the Daniels deal after Michael Cohen failed to come up with the agreed-upon $130,000 hush money payment, Stormy Daniels’ then-attorney Keith Davidson later.
“Push for the cash. [David Pecker] and I just told [Cohen] he has to pay the 150K,” Howard texted Davidson that day, according to evidence.
“It was an attempt to resurrect this deal that had fallen apart,” Davidson said. “They were encouraging Cohen to deal directly with me and that I should try to get as much as I could up to $150,000.”
“The entire matter was frustrating, that it was on again, off again, that there were delays in funding and cancellations,” Davidson said about the entire Daniels transaction.
According to Davidson, Cohen continued to push back on the deal despite the encouragement from Howard and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
“When I call Cohen, he says I am not paying anything. AMI is paying,” a frustrated Davidson said.
On Oct. 26, 2016, Davidson said that he received Cohen the instructions for where to wire the payment.
Asked why he resent the instructions, Davidson cited Cohen’s repeated assertion that “he didn’t have my wiring instructions despite the fact that they were repeatedly sent to him previously.”
“He said, ‘We are sending you the money,'” Davidson recounted Cohen saying on Oct. 26, 2016.
“I told him I didn’t believe him,” Davidson replied.
According to Davidson, Cohen then emailed him the wire transfer confirmation from First Republic Bank to prove that the money was sent.
But Davidson said he still did not believe the money was sent, despite the email.
“It meant nothing to me,” Davidson said, adding that Cohen’s email only confirmed he had the money, not that he had sent it.
Earlier testimony from Cohen’s banker detailed how Cohen ultimately completed the transfer of funds on Oct. 27, 2016.
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