U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday money from his presidential campaign was not used to pay off adult-film star Stormy Daniels, publicly acknowledging the payment for the first time and denying any sexual encounter with her years ago, Reuters reported.
In a series of early posts on Twitter, Trump said he had reimbursed his lawyer Michael Cohen the $130,000 that Cohen paid Daniels in 2016 as part of a contract for her silence over an alleged one-night stand with Trump in 2006.
“Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll (sic) in this transaction,†Trump wrote.
His comments come after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who joined Trump’s legal team last month, said on Wednesday Trump had repaid Cohen the hush money that was given to Daniels.
Trump had told reporters on Air Force One last month that he did not know about the payment to Daniels or the source of the money.
The White House has denied that Trump ever had sex with Clifford.
Asked about the latest remarks by Giuliani and Trump, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told Fox News on Thursday she could not comment as the litigation was ongoing.
Giuliani, in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends†program on Thursday, said Trump did not know the details of the arrangement until about 10 days ago, saying the agreement with Daniels was made for personal reasons in an effort to protect Trump’s family.
