WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump repaid his personal attorney for a $130,000 payment sent to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. That’s according to Rudy Giuliani who joined the President’s legal team two weeks ago.
“Something to do with paying some Stormy Daniels woman $130,000 – which is gonna turn out to be perfectly legal. That, that money was not campaign money,” he told Fox News.
“He didn’t know about the specifics of it, as far as I know. But he did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this.”
Giuliani said Mr. Trump only learned the specifics of the agreement with Daniels after Cohen’s offices were raided by the FBI on April 9th.
He also said the reimbursement invalidates any claims that lawyer Michael Cohen or the President broke any campaign finance laws by sending money to Daniels.
He didn’t say when the President repaid the money, just that he had.
Thursday morning, the President responded in a series of tweets.
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
Daniels claims she was paid to keep quiet about a 2006 sexual encounter with the President. Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, said he was “stunned” by Giuliani’s statements.
“The American people have been lied to about this agreement, about the $130,000. About the reimbursements. We just didn’t know that Rudy Giuliani was going to go on the Sean Hannity show and admit it on national television.
