Trump's Lawyer Suddenly Claims He Gave Stormy Daniels $130,000 of His Own Money

Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael D. Cohen is also claiming the payment was "lawful" and had no involvement from Trump.

February 14, 2018

Trump's personal lawyer has suddenly claimed that he's actually the one who paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels back in 2016.

In a statement to the New York Times Tuesday that's predictably thin on details, longtime Trump lawyer Michael D. Cohen claimed he was never paid back by Trump or his campaign. "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. [Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. Stormy Daniels], and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly," Cohen said. "The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone."

Though Cohen declined to clarify Trump's involvement with the payment, or what exactly it was for, he did add that it was a "private transaction."

The payment was first revealed in a Wall Street Journalreport back in January as having taken place in October 2016. According to the report, the $130,000 was given to Daniels to ensure she didn't go public with claims of an affair with Trump. Cohen, at the time, didn't specifically confirm or deny the payment. Instead, he issued a statement about "rumors" and Trump "vehemently" denying them.

During a memorable Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance shortly after the Journal report took off, Daniels—shortly after seemingly denying a Trump affair in a press release—called that very release into question. "I do not know where it came from," she told Kimmel, who had pointed out his assessment that the statement's signature didn’t resemble her own. "It came from the internet. I also work for the FBI and I'm a man, according to the internet today."