Late last night, Rudy Giuliani shocked viewerswhen he revealed during an interview with Sean Hannity that President Trump had, in fact, reimbursed his personal attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 “hush money” payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, saying the president “didn’t know about the specifics” but that he was aware “of the general arrangement.”
For a moment, the entire Washington political establishment held its breath. After all, it sounded as if Giuliani had just contradicted a statement that Cohen had made both during an interview with the New York Times and during court testimony – and could leave him exposed to a perjury charge. After flying into damage control mode, Giuliani later suggested that while Trump had repaid the $130,000, Cohen had made the payment to Daniels without Trump’s knowledge at the time.
The statement could also rebound on the president: Trump himself had also repeatedly denied having any knowledge of it, meaning that, in addition to possibly putting Cohen in legal jeopardy, Giuliani – Trump’s brand new lawyer – had seemingly risked ensnaring his boss in the controversy as well.
So this morning, President Trump himself weighed in to clarify Giuliani’s statement, providing some of his most detailed comments yet about the lawsuit brought against him and Cohen by Daniels.
Trump/Giuliani.
On April 5:
Q Mr. President, did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels? THE PRESIDENT: No. No. What else?
May 2:
Giuliani: “He didn’t know about the specifics of it, as far as I know. But he did know about the general arrangement,..”— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 3, 2018
As Trump explained in a series of tweets, Cohen was paid through a private retainer agreement, and the money to pay Daniels was presumably taken from these payments, not from payments made by Trump’s campaign.
“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 very common among celebrities and people of wealth,” Trump tweeted.
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
Trump added that these types of agreements are “very common” among rich people and that Daniels’ violation of the NDA was clear-cut and that she would eventually be forced to pay up in arbitration.
“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, 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.”
…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
Finally, Trump again insists that money from the campaign “had nothing to do” with Daniels or the payment made to her – and he also reminded the world that Daniels had previously signed a detailed letter denying the affair.
…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
As Bloomberg White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs pointed out, Trump is making the argument that Giuliani had been trying to make last night.
So this “celebrities and people of wealth” argument is what Rudy Giuliani was *trying* to do on Fox News in that wild interview last night: Shield Michael Cohen from campaign finance violation, and shield Trump from affair with Stormy Daniels. pic.twitter.com/Mtf0MMjqUy
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 3, 2018
That said, Jacobs also made the point that Trump’s story now also appears to have changed, even if he still denies having had an affair: “President Donald Trump changed his story regarding $130,000 in hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign, saying Thursday he reimbursed lawyer Michael Cohen and denying the arrangement was improper.”
Giuliani’s statement indicates that Trump was aware of the payment and reimbursed Cohen for it. It is unclear when or how the reimbursement took place. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“When I heard Cohen’s retainer of $35,000, when he was doing no work for the president, I said ‘That’s how he’s repaying, with a little profit and a little margin for paying taxes for Michael,’’’ Giuliani said.
Asked last month whether he knew about the payment to Daniels, Trump said “No.’’
Asked if he knew where Cohen got the money for the payment, the president said he didn’t.
“No, I don’t know,’’ Trump told reporters.
Daniels is suing Trump and Cohen to void her NDA and has also offered to return the money that Cohen paid her. And just days ago, she slapped Trump with a lawsuit – this time filed in a New York court – claiming that he had defamed her in a series of tweets mocking a sketch of the man she said had threatened her about the purported affair. One wonders if this morning’s tweetstorm will elicit another lawsuit from Daniels?
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