For the first time, Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer has publicly confirmed he gave a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) in October 2016. But Michael D. Cohen insists neither the president nor his 2016 campaign had anything to do with the transaction.
“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly,” Cohen said in a statement provided to The New York Times. Cohen said that the payment “was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.”