During a recent court hearing, Michael Cohen revealed that he was aware in advance that a Wall Street Journal story would focus on Karen McDougal but also mention Stormy Daniels. Cohen, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, acknowledged that he had reached out to Hope Hicks and David Pecker to coordinate their response to the upcoming article.
When questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Cohen confirmed that he had contacted Hicks and Pecker in order to align their efforts and mitigate any potential fallout from the story. He stated that the goal was to 'quell the potential effects of an article like this' by working together to address the situation.