Swiss prosecutors discussing Novartis payment to Cohen

Swiss prosecutors are reportedly looking into payments made by Switzerland-based drug manufacturer Novartis to President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Bloomberg News reported Monday that Switzerland’s attorney general has been in contact with local prosecutors about the payments, but that no criminal proceedings have been opened.

Novartis admitted last week that it had paid Cohen $1.2 million for a one-year contract after he promised the company access to the president and insights on Trump’s thinking on health care policy.

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After the payment was made public, the company called it a “mistake.” The company said it only met with Cohen once because it determined he would not be able to provide the expected insight.

“We made a mistake entering into this engagement and as a consequence are being criticized by a world that expects more from us,” Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan wrote to employees.

The company has said it cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller, who contacted Novartis as part of his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Novartis and AT&T were among the companies that were revealed last week to have paid Cohen for insights to Trump through his shell company called Essential Consultants LLC.

That same company was used to make a $130,000 payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels as part of a nondisclosure agreement related to her alleged 2006 affair with Trump.