WASHINGTON - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who joined President Donald Trump's legal team last month, said on Wednesday that Trump repaid the $130,000 his lawyer gave to an adult-film star to buy her silence about an alleged affair with the president.
Trump has said he did not know about the payment to Stormy Daniels, who says she had a one-night stand with Trump in 2006. Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, the money in 2016 to keep quiet about the alleged sexual encounter before the presidential election.
In an interview on Fox News, Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and longtime friend of Trump, said the president knew about the $130,000 payment and reimbursed Cohen.
"They funneled it through a law firm and the president repaid it," Giuliani said.
"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.
He said the payment did not violate campaign finance laws because it was not drawn from Trump campaign funds.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When asked by reporters on April 5 if he knew about the payment to Daniels, Trump responded, "No." Asked why Cohen made the payment, Trump said: "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."
Cohen has said he paid Daniels out of his own pocket and was not reimbursed by Trump.
The White House has denied Trump had sex with Daniels.
Daniels has sued Trump and Cohen to be released from the non-disclosure agreement, saying it was invalid because Trump never signed it. She has also sued Trump for defamation.
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WASHINGTON, United States - US President Donald Trump broke a 2 month silence Thursday about allegations he slept with a porn star, insisting that he did not pay her $130,000 hush money.
Trump offered a flat "no" when asked if he knew about the payment that was made by his lawyer shortly before the 2016 election.
The actress, Stephanie Clifford -- who goes by the screen name Stormy Daniels -- claims it was money paid to cover up a tryst more than a decade ago.
Trump's long-time lawyer Michael Cohen has admitted to making the payment, but has not indicated why he made it.
He has accused Daniels of breaching a non-disclosure agreement.
Trump said he did not know why Cohen made the payment. "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."
Asked if he knew where the money came from, Trump told reporters on Air Force One, "No, I don't know."
That claim was immediately challenged by Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti.
"We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump's feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment," he tweeted.
"As history teaches us, it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath."
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U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer asked a federal judge on Monday to force adult film star Stormy Daniels to use arbitration to settle a dispute over an agreement to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, last month sued Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney, to be released from the non-disclosure agreement she signed in October 2016 in exchange for $130,000.
The White House has denied that Trump had sex with Daniels. Cohen has said he paid Daniels out of his own pocket.
In Monday's court filing in Los Angeles, Brent Blakely, Cohen's attorney, argued the agreement included a provision that any disputes over it be settled through arbitration, as opposed to open court.
Federal law "dictates that this motion be granted, and that Clifford be compelled to arbitration, as she knowingly and voluntarily agreed to do," Blakely wrote.
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, said the matter should be settled in open court.
"We will vigorously oppose the just-filed motion by Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen to have this case decided in a secret arbitration, in a private conference room, purposely hidden from the American public," Avenatti said in a statement.
Last week, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ruled that a request by Daniels to depose Trump and Cohen was premature because they had yet to formally request that she arbitrate her claims.
Avenatti has argued that the non-disclosure agreement is invalid because Trump never signed it. But in Monday's filing Blakely responded that the language of the agreement did not specify that Trump, using the pseudonym David Dennison, needed to sign it for the agreement to be binding.
Blakely also argued that Daniels accepted the $130,000 and did not dispute the agreement for 16 months even though Trump had not signed it.
Daniels has said she and Trump had sex once in 2006 but that they kept in touch for a period of time.
A former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, has described having a 10-month affair with Trump starting the same year, which the White House has said Trump denies. Trump was married to his wife Melania at the time.
(Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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WASHINGTON - Stormy Daniels sued Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen on Monday for defamation, according to court documents, escalating a legal battle between the American president and the porn star that the White House was struggling to contain.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, made the claim a day after her widely watched TV interview on "60 Minutes" on CBS. Daniels said she was threatened with violence to keep quiet about her alleged 2006 tryst with Trump.
At the White House, a spokesman in a briefing with reporters cast aspersions on her account. The White House has denied allegations that Trump had a sexual relationship with Daniels.
CBS Corp said the show drew its biggest audience in more than eight years, with 21.3 million Americans tuning in, more than double the previous week's edition of "60 Minutes."
Presidential spokesman Raj Shah told the briefing, "The president doesn't believe any of the claims Ms. Daniels made in the interview last night were accurate."
Asked if Trump believed Daniels was threatened, Shah said, "No, he does not. ... There's nothing to corroborate her claim."
Daniels' "60 Minutes" appearance also drew a denial from the president's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, that he was involved in the alleged threat of violence against her.
Daniels originally sued Trump on March 6, saying he never signed an agreement for her to stay silent about what she called their "intimate" relationship. Monday's filing in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles amended the original lawsuit to say Daniels was defamed.
Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Cohen "meant to convey that Ms. Clifford is a liar, someone who should not be trusted, and that her claims about her relationship with Mr. Trump" were not true.
Daniels' defamation allegation was based on a Feb. 13 statement by Cohen that she said hurt her reputation.
The latest filing also said $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels in October 2016 just before the presidential election to secure her silence amounted to an illegal campaign contribution, and that the agreement should be declared void.
Cohen has said he paid Daniels out of his own pocket, but has not explained why or if Trump was aware of the payment.
In filings with the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission, watchdog groups have said the $130,000 may have exceeded campaign contribution limits, violating U.S. law. Cohen has denied this.
California attorney Michael Overing, who specializes in defamation law, said it would be difficult for Daniels to prevail on her defamation claim because she is a public figure.
To prove libel, she would have to show that a false statement was made with either reckless or purposeful disregard for the truth, Overing said.
Trump attorney Cohen's denial of involvement in the alleged threat against Daniels came in a "cease-and-desist" letter sent to Avenatti shortly after "60 Minutes" aired that demanded a retraction and an apology. A copy of the letter was seen by Reuters on Monday.
The letter said, "Mr. Cohen had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any such person or incident, and does not even believe that any such person exists, or that such incident ever occurred."
Daniels said the threat of harm was made by a stranger in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011.
Avenatti said on NBC on Monday that the man who threatened her while she was with her infant daughter was not Cohen, but "had to be someone that is related to Mr. Trump or Mr. Cohen."
Last week CNN interviewed former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who described a 10-month affair with Trump starting in 2006.
Trump was married to his wife, Melania, during both alleged relationships. In addition to denying Trump had sex with Daniels, the White House has said he denies having an affair with McDougal.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Makini Brice; Additional reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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LOS ANGELES - Porn star Stormy Daniels teased President Donald Trump Tuesday over their alleged tryst as it emerged she passed a 2011 lie detector test in which she claimed they had unprotected sex.
The polygraph results came to light as pressure mounted on the president, with an ex-Playboy model suing to be released from another non-disclosure agreement while a former reality star alleging sexual assault took him to court for defamation.
Daniels, who alleges the affair took place in 2006, took to Twitter to warn she was "not going anywhere" despite a legal battle to stop her speaking out, and referenced her sexual encounters with Trump.
"Technically I didn't sleep with the POTUS 12 years ago. There was no sleeping (hehe) and he was just a goofy reality TV star," she tweeted, accusing Trump of bullying her and breaking the law to cover up the affair.
Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted a picture of his client strapped to a chair taking the exam, with the hashtag #searchfortruth.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the lawyer paid $25,000 for the video of 39-year-old Daniels -- real name Stephanie Clifford -- answering questions as she was strapped to the polygraph.
A report on the test, commissioned as part of a 2011 interview published only recently by gossip magazine "In Touch," says Daniels was being truthful when she said she had unprotected sex with Trump in July 2006.
LEGAL JEOPARDY
The examination did not, however, corroborate the actress's allegations that the real estate mogul promised to include her on his reality show "The Apprentice."
Lie detector tests are generally not admissible in court because their accuracy is regarded as unproven.
The White House and Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, have repeatedly denied the affair with Daniels, although the attorney admits paying her $130,000 of his own money under a confidentiality agreement.
The Republican president will be vulnerable to accusations that he violated election law if the payment, plus allegations of cash given to silence other alleged mistresses, are considered attempts to sway the November 2016 election.
Ex-playmate Karen McDougal filed a lawsuit alleging a 10-month affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007 and petitioning to be released from a non-disclosure agreement with the National Enquirer, which paid her $150,000 for her story but then shelved it.
McDougal complained in documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that American Media Inc (AMI), which owns the Enquirer, misled her about the 2016 deal, rendering it invalid.
"Ms McDougal received $150,000 -- nearly half of which went to the lawyer, who she did not realize was colluding with the other side -- and a false promise to jumpstart her career as a health and fitness model," the complaint alleges.
THREATS OF FINANCIAL RUIN
The suit argues that despite the relationship and the cover-up being "open secrets," AMI has pressured McDougal to ignore queries from prominent journalists about the relationship.
"They threaten her with financial ruin if she does not remain 'loyal,'" court papers say.
"AMI, meanwhile, feeds those same reporters false information about Ms McDougal, her relationship with Mr Trump, and its own machinations to bind her to silence."
In another blow for the White House, a New York judge allowed a lawsuit by Summer Zervos, a former candidate on NBC's "The Apprentice," to go ahead, rejecting a request for dismissal.
Zervos, who accuses Trump of defamation, says he fondled her and tried to forcefully kiss her in 2007.
She is among at least 16 women who have accused the president of varying inappropriate behavior, from harassment to sexual assault, all coming forward before or during his White House bid.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in all cases, and his campaign team published the account of a cousin of Zervos berating her for publicity-seeking.
Zervos responded by hauling Team Trump before the New York State Supreme Court in January 2017, citing "false and defamatory statements."
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WASHINGTON - An American porn star who claims to have had an affair with Donald Trump before he became president now feels free to tell her story, her manager said Wednesday.
After Trump's longtime personal lawyer admitted paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, the actress's manager suggested a non-disclosure agreement had been broken.
"Everything is off now, and Stormy is going to tell her story," manager Gina Rodriguez told US media.
Trump's aide and special counsel Michael Cohen has refused to say why he paid Daniels the vast sum but was not, as he claims, reimbursed by the "Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign."
Trump declined to comment on the issue. The White House has dodged questions about whether allegations of an affair are true, claiming the matter was dealt with during the campaign.
It has also referred any questions about the payment to Cohen.
Vice President Mike Pence described suggestions of an affair as "the latest baseless allegations against the president."
Last month, celebrity magazine In Touch published a 2011 interview with Daniels -- whose real name is Stephanie Clifford -- in which she details having "textbook generic" sex with Trump.
She recalled meeting Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006, shortly after the president's wife Melania Trump gave birth to their son Barron.
Since the alleged signing of a confidentiality agreement, Daniels has denied the affair took place and then appeared to deny making the denial.
The allegations bubbled away before the election but have resurfaced because of a legal case that claims Cohen's payment may have broken campaign finance laws.
The lawyer said he did nothing wrong.
"The payment to Ms Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone," Cohen said.
He declined to say whether Trump was aware of the payment.
Watchdog group Common Cause launched the legal action, saying they have "reason to believe" that money was "an unreported in-kind expenditure... because the funds were paid for the purpose of influencing the 2016 presidential general."
The alleged violation of federal campaign finance law "undermines the integrity of democracy in the United States," a letter signed by Paul Ryan of Common Cause reads.
'MAKE AMERICA HORNY AGAIN'
Daniels has been taking advantage of her newfound notoriety.
Last month, she appeared at the Trophy Club strip club in South Carolina as part of a "Make America Horny Again" tour -- a tongue-in-cheek reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan -- that will also reportedly take her to several other states over the next few months.
In a recent appearance on the late night TV talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" -- right after Trump delivered his State of the Union address -- Daniels deflected questions about the alleged affair and whether she had signed a non-disclosure agreement.
"You can't say whether you have a non-disclosure agreement. But if you didn't have a non-disclosure agreement, you most certainly could say, 'I don't have a non-disclosure agreement.' Yes?" Kimmel asked.
"You're so smart, Jimmy," Daniels answered.
Later in the interview, Kimmel asked, "Have you ever made love to someone whose name rhymes with Lonald Lump?"
"I'll call you whatever you want me to call you, baby," Daniels responded.
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WASHINGTON, United States - President Donald Trump's personal attorney arranged a $130,000 payment to a former porn star before the 2016 election to keep her from going public about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
A White House official categorically denied the report in which the woman, Stephanie Clifford, says she met Trump at a celebrity golf event in 2006 -- a year after he married his current wife, Melania.
Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, says the encounter happened sometime after that, the Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Trump's longtime attorney Michael Cohen brokered the payment to the woman in October 2016 -- one month before the election -- under a deal that included a nondisclosure agreement, the sources told the newspaper.
"These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election," a White House official said.
During the presidential campaign, a videotape emerged of Trump boasting that he could grope women with impunity. Several women have accused the 71-year-old of sexual misconduct.
Trump has denied all of the claims as lies, and even suggested the taped comments were falsified. But former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush said he and seven others witnessed Trump making the lewd remarks.
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