Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and "fixer", has pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations and other charges, saying he and Trump arranged the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to influence the election. Under a plea bargain reached with federal prosecutors, Cohen, 51, could get about four to five years in prison at sentencing on December 12. Cohen pleaded guilty yesterday to eight counts in all, including tax evasion and making a false statement to a financial institution.

In entering the plea, Cohen did not specifically name the two women or even Trump, recounting instead that he worked with an "unnamed candidate". But the amounts and the dates all lined up with the payments made to Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal. Cohen's plea follows months of scrutiny from federal investigations and a falling-out with the president, whom he previously said he would "take a bullet" for.