New ‘Stormy’ story clashes with old
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump insisted Thursday his reimbursement of a 2016 hush payment to a porn actress had nothing to do with his election campaign. But the surprise revelation of the president’s payment clashed with his past statements, created new legal headaches and stunned many in the West Wing.
White House aides were blindsided when Mr. Trump’s recently added attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said Wednesday night that the president had repaid Michael Cohen for $130,000 that was given to the actress, Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. The money was to keep her quiet before the 2016 election about her allegations of an affair with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Giuliani’s revelation, which seemed to contradict Mr. Trump’s past statements, came as the president’s newly configured outside legal team pursued his defense,
apparently with zero coordination with the West Wing.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she first learned that Mr. Trump had repaid the hush money from Mr. Giuliani’s interview on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity.” Staffers’ phones began to buzz within moments.
Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley, who had pretaped an interview with Fox News earlier Wednesday evening, was suddenly summoned to return for a live interview.
While Mr. Giuliani said the payment to Ms. Clifford was “going to turn out to be perfectly legal,” legal experts said the new information raised a number of questions, including whether the money represented repayment of an undisclosed loan or could be seen as reimbursement for a campaign expenditure. Either could be legally problematic.
Mr. Giuliani insisted Mr. Trump didn’t know the specifics of Mr. Cohen’s arrangement with Ms. Clifford until recently, telling “Fox & Friends” on Thursday that the president didn’t know all the details until “maybe 10 days ago.” Mr. Giuliani told The New York Times that Mr. Trump had repaid Mr. Cohen $35,000 a month “out of his personal family account” after the campaign was over. He said Mr. Cohen received $460,000 or $470,000 in all for expenses related to Mr. Trump.
But no debt to Mr. Cohen was listed on Mr. Trump’s personal financial disclosure form, which was certified on June 16, 2017. Asked if Mr. Trump had filed a fraudulent form, Ms. Sanders said: “I don’t know.”
Mr. Giuliani said the payment was not a campaign finance violation, but also acknowledged that Ms. Cliffords’ hushed-up allegations could have affected the campaign, saying: “Imagine if that came out on October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton.”
Questions remain about just what Mr. Trump knew and when.
Ms. Clifford is seeking to be released from a non-disclosure deal she signed in the days before the 2016 election to keep her from talking about a 2006 sexual encounter she said she had with Mr. Trump. She has also filed defamation suits against Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One several weeks ago, Mr. Trump said he did not know about the payment or where the money came from.
In a phone interview with “Fox and Friends” last week, however, he appeared to muddy the waters, saying that Mr. Cohen represented him in the “crazy Stormy Daniels deal.”
Ms. Sanders said Thursday that Mr. Trump “eventually learned” about the payment, but she did not offer details.
For all the controversy Mr. Giuliani stirred up, some Trump supporters said it was wise to get the payment acknowledgement out in the open.