A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of documents relating to hush-money payments by Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to two women who said they had sexual encounters with the president and disclosed that federal prosecutors had ended their investigation of the matter.
U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan ordered that the documents, used by prosecutors to obtain a search warrant for Cohen's home and office last year, must be unsealed by 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) on Thursday, declaring the issue of "national importance."
Cohen, 52, pleaded guilty in 2018 to directing payments of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels and $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal to avert a scandal shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied having the encounters more than a decade ago with Daniels and McDougal.
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