Stormy hush money deal done on email from Trump Org
But the emails.
President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer used his Trump Organisation email account while setting up a US$130,000 (NZ$178,000) payment to a porn star claiming she had an affair with the president a decade ago, according to a report.
Attorney Michael Cohen, who claims he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket, corresponded with First Republic Bank about the payment using his Trump email account, NBC reported yesterday.
The email, dated October 26, 2016 — days ahead of the election — was sent to Cohen by an assistant to First Republic Bank senior managing director Gary Farro.
The email appears to have been a reply to Cohen. ‘‘RE: First Republic Bank Transfer,’’ is in the subject line and the message confirmed that ‘‘the funds have been deposited your checking account.’’
The next day, Cohen wired money from First Republic to the City National Bank account of lawyer Keith Davidson, who was representing Daniels at the time.
‘‘The $130,000 question, however, is from whose account was the money transferred on October 26, 2016,’’ Daniels’ current lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told NBC.
He said the email ‘‘suggests’’ it might have been a Trump Organisation account since the correspondence was through Cohen’s Trump email. ‘‘Mr Cohen should immediately provide the prior emails (between him and the bank) to show exactly where the money came from,’’ Avenatti said.
Last month, Cohen defended the president, saying that there was no relationship between Trump and Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — and that he paid her himself.
Clifford is suing the president to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that he never signed.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined on Thursday to provide additional details and deflected questions about Clifford. into
‘‘Look, the president has addressed these directly and made very well clear that none of these allegations are true,’’ Sanders said.
Trump has not publicly addressed the alleged illicit dalliance. ‘‘This case has already been won in arbitration and anything beyond that I would refer you to the president’s outside counsel,’’ Sanders added.
Cohen obtained a secret restraining order in a private arbitration proceeding and warned that Clifford faces penalties if she publicly discusses a relationship with the president, according to NBC News.
Daniels’ suit alluded to the legal filing as an attempt to ‘‘intimidate’’ her and ‘‘shut her up’’ by initiating what it calls a ‘‘bogus arbitration proceeding.’’
Cohen obtained a restraining order against Daniels from the private arbitrator, a retired judge, which bars her from disclosing ‘‘confidential information’’ related to the nondisclosure agreement signed in October 2016.
The ‘‘hush agreement,’’ as Daniels calls it, which is attached to the suit, uses pseudonyms for her and Trump.
Daniels is referred to as ‘‘Peggy Peterson’’ throughout and Trump as ‘‘David Dennison.’’
The pair began sleeping together in the summer of 2006 — a few weeks after first lady Melania Trump gave birth to their son, Barron, Daniels claims in court papers.
The affair continued well into 2007 and included flings in Lake Tahoe and at the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to the suit. Daniels planned to speak publicly about the affair in the fall of 2016 after the release of an infamous hot mic recording that caught Trump bragging about being able to ‘‘grab’’ women ‘‘by the p---y’’ because he’s a ‘‘star.’’
‘‘After discovering Ms Clifford’s plans, Mr Trump, with the assistance of his attorney, Mr Cohen, aggressively sought to silence Ms Clifford as part of an effort to avoid her telling the truth, thus helping to ensure he won the presidential election,’’ the suit states. - NY Daily News temporary