President Trump on Thursday told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was unaware that his personal lawyer had paid a former adult film star to keep quiet about an alleged affair she had with the erstwhile Manhattan billionaire.
The attorney, Michael Cohen, admitted earlier this year to transferring $130,000 to actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about a tryst she says she had with Trump in 2006. The payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was made in late October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election.
Daniels and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, are currently embroiled in a back-and-forth with Trump's legal team. Daniels is suing to be released from the nondisclosure agreement she signed with Cohen, arguing that because Trump never signed the contract, it is void. Lawyers for Trump have asserted that Daniels will be hit with financial penalties for breaking the agreement by talking about the alleged affair.
Trump has steadfastly denied that he was ever involved with Daniels — though New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman notes that Trump's specific characterization of Cohen as "my attorney" could make "attorney-client privilege assertion likelier," as the legal saga drags on. Read more about Daniels' unlikely heroism here at The Week.