US President Donald Trump admits lawyer paid off porn star Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump today admitted his lawyer, Michael Cohen, had paid off a porn star who claims to have had an affair with the US President for her silence after previously denying all knowledge of the $130,000 (£95,500) payment.
Writing on Twitter, Trump said Cohen “received a monthly retainer” which was used to “stop the false and extortionist accusations” from the porn star.
Trump said the payment was “not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign”, referring to his run for President. “Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction”, he said.
Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are…..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018
…very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair,……— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018
…despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair. Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018
There are strict limits on personal donations to election campaigns. Trump’s campaign did not disclose any donations from Michael Cohen, according to US media.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who recently joined Trump’s legal team, last night acknowledged the payments had been made, saying they did not violate campaign financing rules.
Giuliani said he has documentation showing Trump made the payments to Cohen personally to cover “incidental expenses”, rather than the campaign, according to the New York Times.
Cohen paid $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford, who makes porn videos under the name Stormy Daniels, in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to prevent her from revealing details of an alleged affair with Trump before he ran for President in 2016.
Trump had previously denied knowledge of the payments, telling reporters last month that he did not know the source of the money used by Cohen.
Cohen is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who raided his offices last month.
The latest controversy comes after a doctor told CNN that the President dictated a note which claimed he had “astonishingly excellent” health. Trump had repeatedly highlighted the health of rival presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as an issue.
Read more: Trump wrote his own doctor’s note saying he was “astonishingly” healthy