TL;DR: AT&T is sketchy as hell and you should join the Red Alert for Net Neutrality starting tomorrow and contact your lawmakers!

So, its entirely possible that there is a “very reasonable” explanation for this (in that way where giant corporations can have reasonable explanations for why they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to sitting president’s personal attorneys), but…

Stormy Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, alleges that AT&T paid $200,000 to Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen through the same shell company he used to pay Stormy Daniels. The money came in four installments of $50,000, starting in early 2017 and ending in January 2018, right after Trump’s pick for FCC chair, Ajit Pai, rushed through the repeal of net neutrality, despite overwhelming outcry from across the political spectrum.

UPDATE: Reuters is now reporting that the amount paid by AT&T to Michael Cohen’s shell company was even greater, likely $600,000 or more.

UPDATE 2: The Washington Post has obtained internal documents showing that the payments were to push for AT&T’s corporate interests “with focus on the FCC” as well as their massive merger, tax law, etc.

AT&T confirms the payment, and explains it away saying they paid Cohen as a consultant to “gain insight” into the Trump White House on net neutrality and other issues.

Not conclusive, but frankly, this is sketchy as all hell. The Senate is about to vote on a resolution to block the FCC repeal and restore net neutrality, so contact your lawmakers now, and join the Red Alert protests continuing until the vote on May 16.