WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's personal attorney said Tuesday that he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to a porn actress who allegedly had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006.
Michael Cohen said in a statement to The New York Times that he was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign for the payment to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Cohen wrote, "The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone."
Cohen told the Times that he had delivered a similar statement to the Federal Election Commission in response to a complaint filed by Common Cause, a watchdog group.
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Common Cause had asked the commission to investigate the source of the $130,000 payment and determine whether it represented an excessive campaign contribution. Cohen told the Times, "The allegations in the complaint are factually unsupported and without legal merit."
The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Cohen had arranged the payment to Clifford in October 2016 to keep her from publicly discussing, during the presidential campaign, the alleged sexual encounter.
A Section on 02/14/2018