Novartis Lawyer Retires in Relation to Cohen Payments
May 16 2018 - 3:23AM
Dow Jones News
By Max Bernhard
Novartis AG said Wednesday its general counsel is retiring from
the company in connection with its $1.2 million payments to a
company owned by Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's
longtime personal lawyer, as the Swiss drugmaker battles to contain
the fallout from the arrangement.
Novartis made the payments of $100,000 a month to Mr. Cohen's
company, Essential Consultants, for insight into health-care policy
in a one-year contract that ended in February. Novartis Chief
Executive Vasant Narasimhan last week called the agreement a
mistake and denied any involvement himself.
"Although the contract was legally in order, it was an error,"
general counsel Felix Ehrat, who is a co-signatory of the
agreement, said in a statement Wednesday.
Novartis, one of the world's biggest drug companies by sales,
said last week that its aim was to gain better understanding of
Trump administration policy-making, especially regarding matters
like the status of the Affordable Care Act. But it realized from
its first meeting in March 2017 that it wouldn't be helpful and
stopped engaging with Mr. Cohen. The company said it determined it
couldn't scrap the contract and continued making the payments.
The disclosure is an embarrassment for the company, having spent
shareholder money on Mr. Cohen, who appears to have produced little
help.
Novartis's move comes less than a week after AT&T Inc.,
which paid Mr. Cohen's company $600,000 last year for similar
insight, said that hiring Mr. Cohen as a political consultant was a
"big mistake," and ousted its top Washington executive. The telecom
giant said it made the payments in return for insight into the
administration at a time when it needed government approval for an
$85 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc.--a deal whose outcome is
now in the hands of a federal judge.
Essential Consultants is the same firm Mr. Cohen used to pay
$130,000 to a former adult-film actress, who goes by the name
Stormy Daniels, in October 2016 to keep her from discussing an
alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. Both Mr. Trump and Mr.
Cohen deny the encounter took place.
Mr. Ehrat will be replaced at Novartis by Shannon Thyme Klinger,
who currently holds the position of chief ethics, risk and
compliance officer. She will be appointed effective June 1,
Novartis said.
Novartis said Wednesday it hasn't been contacted by Swiss
prosecutors about this matter.
Donato Paolo Mancini contributed to this article.
Write to Max Bernhard at Max.Bernhard@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 16, 2018 03:08 ET (07:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Novartis (NYSE:NVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Novartis (NYSE:NVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024