From the White House, a stream of checks from ‘Individual 1’

On days when he met foreign leaders, haggled over legislation or reportedly pressured the F.B.I. director to drop an investigation into a former aide, President Trump also signed checks to Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer — remuneration for hush payments made to two women who claimed they had affairs with Mr. Trump.

On 11 occasions through 2017, Mr. Trump or his trust cut such checks, and six of them were provided this week to The Times. They have put Mr. Trump in potential legal jeopardy: Mr. Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in connection with the payments to the women, and prosecutors have said that Mr. Trump directed the scheme, identifying him in filings as “Individual 1.”

Defenders of the president say the checks prove only that Mr. Trump paid his personal lawyer, not that he knew what the money was for, but his accounts of what he knew have been murky.

Another investigation: New York State regulators have issued an expansive subpoena to the Trump Organization’s longtime insurance broker, the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving the Trump family business. During his congressional testimony last week, Mr. Cohen indicated that the company had inflated the value of its assets to insurance companies.