Trump defends payment to Stormy Daniels, says 'nothing to do with campaign'

Washington D.C. [United States], May 3 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump on Thursday defended the hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels, saying that he paid a monthly retainer to his former lawyer Michael Cohen which is " not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign."

Trump went on a Twitter spree to defend the payment made to Daniels after the Giuliani revelation. His Thursday's tweets contradict his earlier statements that he was not aware of any such payment to the actress, who alleges she had an affair with Trump.

"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.....," Trump tweeted.

"...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,......" he continued.

"...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 (role) in this transaction," the US President added,

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

...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

...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

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday said that US President Donald Trump reimbursed his personal lawyer Michael Cohen's USD 130,000 payment to adult star Stormy Daniels to "stay quiet" on their alleged affair.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, Giuliani, who recently joined President Trump's legal team, said that the payment was "perfectly legal" and was not "campaign money", The Hill reported.

"It's not campaign money. No campaign finance violation. They funnelled through a law firm and the president repaid it," Giuliani said.

Asked whether the US President was aware of the payment, Giuliani underscored that "he did not know the specifics of it in his knowledge".

"He did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this," he said when he revealed President Trump's agreement with Cohen.

On a related note, President Trump said last month that he did not know about the USD 130,000 payment made by Cohen.

On Tuesday, Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, who publicly claimed a 2006 sexual encounter with President Trump, filed a fresh defamation suit against him. The lawsuit said that she suffered damages in excess of USD 75,000.

Daniels has been locked in a legal battle with President Trump, seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she and Cohen had signed more than a decade ago.

In her previous lawsuit, the adult star is asking whether the hush agreement was legal and is looking at whether President Trump consented to it.

The adult star revealed that the deal was not valid because the US President "never signed it himself".(ANI)