What role did Michael Cohen and other aides play in payments, and were any beneficiaries minors or family members of minors?

1. Michael Cohen’s role: the “fixer” who paid and sought reimbursement

Reporting and court testimony describe Cohen as Trump’s longtime personal attorney and problem‑solver who arranged and in some cases personally advanced payments that prosecutors say were intended to suppress potentially damaging stories during the 2016 campaign. Cohen acknowledged wiring $130,000 to Stormy Daniels and testified that those payments were made “at the direction” of Trump; prosecutors say Cohen later sought reimbursement from the Trump Organization and that reimbursements were recorded as legal expenses ^{[5] [1] [3]}.

2. Reimbursement scheme alleged by prosecutors

Prosecutors produced documents and testimony showing Cohen sought repayment and that the Trump Organization recorded reimbursements in ways prosecutors call falsified business records — 34 allegedly false invoices, ledgers and checks were shown during trial according to coverage ^{[3] [6]}. Cohen’s account, and corroborating documents introduced by prosecutors, describe a plan for staggered repayments disguised as legal fees, including a monthly plan Trump allegedly approved that doubled amounts to account for taxes ^{[7] [3]}.

3. Who received the payments that Cohen arranged?

Coverage repeatedly names adult‑aged women and corporate entities as recipients: Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 and reporting links Cohen to payments involving Playboy model Karen McDougal (American Media, Inc. paid McDougal in reporting) and to various vendors or contractors tied to campaign or business needs ^{[1] [4] [2]}. The AP timeline specifically notes Cohen sought reimbursement for the $130,000 payment to Daniels and an additional $50,000 described as unrelated campaign “tech services” ^[2].

4. Any indication beneficiaries were minors or family members of minors?

Available sources in the provided set identify recipients as adult women (Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal) and companies; none of the items in the search results report payments to minors or to family members of minors. If you are asking whether any beneficiary was a minor or a child of someone involved, that is not mentioned in these articles ^{[1] [4] [2] [3]}. Available sources do not mention payments to minors or family members of minors.

5. Credibility and competing perspectives on Cohen’s testimony

News outlets note sharp disagreements about Cohen’s credibility. Defense lawyers in Trump’s trial called Cohen “the greatest liar of all time,” pointing to his criminal convictions and motives, while prosecutors presented him as a central corroborating witness supported by documents and recordings ^{[6] [8]}. Encyclopedic and contemporaneous reporting (Britannica, AP) treat Cohen as a pivotal figure whose guilty plea and later testimony link the payments to campaign‑period conduct ^{[1] [2]}. Readers should weigh both the documentary evidence prosecutors introduced and defense attacks on Cohen’s character ^{[3] [6]}.

6. What else reporting highlights about related payments and probes

Beyond Daniels and McDougal, reporting and earlier investigations examined other payments Cohen helped orchestrate and financial scrutiny of Cohen himself — federal probes once examined broader bank and tax matters tied to payments to multiple women and business dealings ^{[4] [9]}. The AP summary notes prosecutors closed a federal campaign finance probe focused on Cohen, suggesting they did not bring charges beyond Cohen in that inquiry ^[9].

7. Limitations and next steps if you need more detail

This briefing relies only on the supplied reporting. If you want confirmation about any alleged payments to specific individuals (including minors or relatives), those names or allegations are not present in the provided sources; to answer conclusively would require either court records, indictments listing recipients, or reporting beyond these items. For primary documentation, review the trial exhibits cited by AP/PBS coverage or court filings that list the 34 allegedly false records and the reimbursement checks ^{[3] [2]}.