Aboard Air Force One • President Donald Trump said Thursday that he did not know that his personal attorney paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 days before the presidential election to prevent her from publicly accusing Trump of having an affair.
The president said he did not know where his attorney, Michael Cohen, got the money for the payment, and he declined to say if he ever set up a fund for Cohen to cover expenses like that.
As the president returned to Washington from West Virginia on Thursday afternoon, he spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One for about three and a half minutes. At one point, a reporter asked him: “Did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?”
Trump responded: “No.”
The reporter then asked: “Then why did Michael Cohen make it, if there was no truth to her allegations?”
“You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen,” Trump said. “Michael’s my attorney, and you’ll have to ask Michael.”
Another reporter then asked the president: “Do you know where he got the money to make that payment?”
“No,” Trump said. “I don’t know.”
That reporter then asked: “Did you ever set up a fund of money that he could pull from?”
Trump ignored the question and turned to another reporter who asked the president to repeat comments he made earlier in his visit.