Donald Trump knew payments to women were wrong, says Cohen

Donald Trump knew it was wrong to order hush money be paid to two women, his former lawyer Michael Cohen said.

Michael Cohen leaves federal court this month.

Donald Trump knew it was wrong to order hush money be paid to two women who claimed to have had affairs with him, his former lawyer Michael Cohen said in an interview to be broadcast today.

Mr Trump acted because he “was very concerned about how this would affect the election,” Cohen told the US ABC News of the women’s allegations in his first comments since being sentenced to three years in prison.

Mr Trump has said he never directed Cohen to break the law. But Cohen, asked if Mr Trump knew the payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal were wrong, said: “Of course.” ABC released excerpts of the interview ahead of its full airing.

Cohen challenged Mr Trump’s assertion that he never told him to break the law. “I don’t think there is anybody that believes that,” Cohen told George Stephanopoulos on the program Good Morning America. “First of all, nothing at the Trump Organisation was ever done unless it was run through Mr Trump. He directed me to make the payments,” Cohen said.

“He knows the truth. I know the truth. Others know the truth,” Cohen added. “And here is the truth: People of the United States of America, people of the world, don’t believe what he is saying. The man doesn’t tell the truth. And it is sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds.”

Mr Trump denies having affairs with the women who were paid off just weeks before the election in which he beat Hillary Clinton.

Earlier, Mr Trump said any mistakes Cohen may have made in ­respect to campaign finance law relating to the payments were Cohen’s fault alone. The comments, made in a volley of tweets, were aimed at distancing the President from accusations that he may be legally liable as a co-conspirator.

Cohen testified that Mr Trump ordered him to make the payments to Daniels and McDougal to buy their silence about affairs they were alleged to have had with Mr Trump. The payments were over the legal limit allowed under campaign funding laws and Cohen ­alleges Mr Trump ordered them to help influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

But Mr Trump said he had done nothing wrong. “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel’, and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid,” he tweeted.

Mr Trump said the payments, which he had previously described as a “private transaction”, would probably not qualify as campaign finance payments. “Despite that many campaign finance lawyers have strongly stated that I did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even apply, because this was not campaign finance,” he said.

“Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead (sic) to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not guilty even on a civil basis.” Mr Trump said Cohen had pleaded guilty to campaign ­finance violations only to try to embarrass him.

“Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the President and get a much-reduced prison sentence, which he did — including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!” Mr Trump wrote.

Cohen told the court the President was the real villain. “Time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds,” the 52-year-old said.

“I blame myself for the conduct which has brought me here today and it was my own weakness and a blind loyalty to this man that led me to choose a path of darkness over light.”

Mr Trump initially denied knowledge of the payment of $US130,000 to Daniels although he later said Cohen had made the payment on his own initiative.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AFP

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia