Anyone digging on Elliot Broidy? Hush money payment to Playboy model

On April 13, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Broidy, who was married at the time. had a sexual relationship with a Playboy Playmate, resulting in a pregnancy in late 2017. The article stated that the model later aborted the pregnancy. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, later negotiated a deal to pay $1.6 million for the woman's silence. The settlement was falsely characterized at the time as a personal injury settlement.[27][28][29] Broidy resigned his post at the RNC the same day the article appeared.[30]

1MDB Scandal

In March 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Broidy had been in negotiations to earn tens of millions of dollars by lobbying the U.S. Justice Department to drop its investigation into a multibillion-dollar graft scandal involving a Malaysian state investment fund, 1MDB, according to emails reviewed by the Journal. One email showed a proposal that would have given Broidy and his wife $75 million if they got the Justice Department to drop its probe into 1MDB. Broidy also prepared talking points for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to tell Trump during his 2017 visit to Washington, DC. This included playing up Malaysia's relationship with the U.S. in fighting North Korea and arguing against pursuing legal action against 1MDB.[25][26]

Bribing of New York State Comptroller

In 2009, Broidy entered a guilty plea to a single felony count of attempting to provide excess gratuity to former New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor[6][21][22] in exchange for cooperation that helped lead to the conviction of Hevesi and six other pension officials.[8][23] Broidy had provided $1 million in illegal gifts to New York State pension authorities. The gifts included luxury trips to Israel, payouts, and an undisclosed investment in a film produced by the brother of the chief investment officer of the New York State Retirement Fund. In exchange for the gifts, the state pension fund had invested $250 million with Markstone Capital Partners.[8][24] As part of the plea deal, Broidy paid $18 million in restitution of management fees paid by the pension fund to Markstone.