Telecoms giant says it made a ‘serious misjudgment’ in its relationship with Cohen and admits ‘our reputation has been damaged’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Hiring president Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was a “big mistake,” AT&T’s chief executive officer, Randall Stephenson, said in an employee memo, reviewed by Reuters, that went out on Friday morning.

AT&T’s head lobbyist, Bob Quinn, who oversaw the hiring of Cohen, is retiring, according to the memo.

The telecoms giant said on Tuesday it had hired Essential Consultants, a company used by Cohen, to advise it on working with the new administration in early 2017, around the time of Trump’s inauguration.

Payments to Michael Cohen show how 'shadow lobbying' eludes US law Read more

The disclosure of a relationship with Cohen has turned into a major embarrassment for AT&T as it awaits a US judge’s decision, scheduled for 12 June, on whether it can go through with an $85bn deal to buy Time Warner.

The deal, which was announced in October 2016, was quickly denounced by Trump, who has been sharply critical of CNN, a unit of Time Warner.

“To be clear, everything we did was done according to the law and entirely legitimate,” Stephenson wrote in the memo. “But the fact is our past association with Cohen was a serious misjudgment.

“Our company has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons these last few days and our reputation has been damaged.”

AT&T did not hire Cohen to lobby on behalf of the company, according to the memo. The one-year contract at $50,000 per month, from January through December 2017, was limited to consulting and advisory services, according to the memo.

AT&T never asked Cohen to set up meetings for the company with anyone in the Trump administration, and he did not offer to do so, according to the memo.

AT&T’s board of directors does not hold Stephenson responsible for the lack of vetting, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The AT&T payments were revealed by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels. He also said a company tied to the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg paid Essential Consultants for certain services. Other corporations including the Swiss drug firm Novartis made payments to Cohen.

Essential Consultants paid $130,000 to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, days before the 2016 presidential election as part of a non-disclosure agreement that barred her from discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. The president denies any encounter took place.

