I repaid Cohen hush money for Stormy Daniels, says Trump
After denying knowing about his lawyer’s $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump now admits he reimbursed him.
Donald Trump last night admitted reimbursing his lawyer Michael Cohen for the $US130,000 ($173,000) he paid for the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels, contradicting earlier claims he knew nothing or little about the payments.
The US President said the reimbursement was done through a monthly retainer and “had nothing to do with the campaign”.
On Twitter, Mr Trump said Mr Cohen received a monthly retainer “from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA”.
He added that the agreement “was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair”.
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
Mr Trump’s tweets outlining the arrangement came after the head of the President’s legal team, Rudy Giuliani said that Mr Trump reimbursed Mr Cohen for the hush money to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.
“I’m giving you a fact that you don’t know,” Mr Giuliani told Fox News yesterday. “It’s not campaign money. No campaign finance violation. They funnelled through a law firm and the President repaid it.”
Asked if the President knew about the arrangement, he said: “He didn’t know about the specifics of it but he did know about the general arrangement, that Michael would take care of things like this.”
Mr Trump has denied Daniels’s claim that he had sex with her in 2006 soon after his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son.
As recently as April 5, Mr Trump said he did not know Mr Cohen had paid Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.
Mr Trump was asked aboard Air Force One: “Did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?’
He replied: “No.”
Mr Trump said he did not know why Mr Cohen had made the payment or from where he got the money. Mr Cohen has said he paid Daniels from his own pocket. As recently as March 7, he said he had not been reimbursed for it.
Daniels’s lawyer Michael Avenatti said Mr Giuliani’s remarks would have “serious consequences” for the President.
“This is a stunning revelation,” he said. “Mr Trump evidently has participated in a felony and there must be serious consequences for his conduct and his lies and deception to the American people.”
Watchdog groups have argued the payment to Daniels was made to influence the 2016 election and was therefore an illegal undisclosed contribution to the Trump campaign.
Hours before Mr Giuliani’s interview, Mr Trump signalled he wanted a more aggressive attack on special counsel Robert Mueller by shaking up his team of lawyers to prepare for what shapes as an epic legal battle.
In a sign of the White House’s new-found willingness to tackle Mr Mueller head-on, it replaced one of Mr Trump’s lawyers, Ty Cobb, with lawyer Emmet Flood, who represented Bill Clinton during attempts to impeach him.
Mr Flood is considered an attack dog who is likely to take on the Mueller team as it investigates Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Mr Cobb had urged Mr Trump to co-operate fully with Mr Mueller’s probe.
Mr Cobb is the second high-profile lawyer to leave Mr Trump’s team in recent months following the resignation of John Dowd.
“Jay felt that he needed someone that was more aggressive,” said Mr Giuliani, referring to Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, who wants a more assertive approach to the Mueller team. “That’s not a criticism of Ty, but it’s just about how we’re going to do this.
“It was time to make a change. And the new guy, Emmet, will add a tremendous amount of experience, having been involved in representing president Clinton.”
Mr Cohen is awaiting his fate after the FBI raided his home and office last month searching for evidence of possible illegal financial dealings.
Those raids are said to have led Mr Trump to reconsider his earlier claim that he would be happy to be interviewed by Mr Mueller.
He is said to be listening more closely to his lawyers, who argue that he would open himself up to legal jeopardy by agreeing to a wideranging interview with Mr Mueller.
Mr Giuliani said yesterday any interview between Mr Trump and Mr Mueller would be shorter than the investigators would like.
“Some people have talked about a possible 12-hour interview,” he said: “That’s not going to happen — I’ll tell you that. It’d be, max, two to three hours around a narrow set of questions.”
Mr Mueller’s initial list of 49 questions for the President was leaked this week, although many believe this would just be a starting point for Mr Mueller.
The shake-up in Mr Trump’s legal team comes only days after it was revealed that Mr Mueller warned White House lawyers in a tense meeting in March that he could subpoena the President to give an interview if necessary.
Mr Trump’s lawyers have argued there are no clear legal requirements for a president to be compelled by such a subpoena, but such an issue has never been tested by the courts.
Mr Cobb said the decision to leave was his and it should not be interpreted as a declaration of war by the administration.
“People will think this means we’re going to war, but I would not read that into this,” he said, although he added he did not “mind being regarded as a peacemaker”.
As well as representing Mr Clinton during the impeachment scandal, Mr Flood was also a White House lawyer during George W. Bush’s second term, while in private practice he also represented former vice-president Dick Cheney.
It is unclear where Mr Flood stands in relation to sacking Mr Mueller — a move the President’s legal team has so far opposed.
Mr Trump yesterday tweeted: “There was no Collusion (it is a hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap).”
Cameron Stewart is The Australian’s Washington correspondent and US contributor for Sky News Australia
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