Trump repaid his lawyer for Stormy Daniels hush money

Donald Trump personally repaid his lawyer Michael Cohen the $130,000 hush money given to the adult-film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election to buy her silence over an alleged affair, Ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Wednesday.

Giuliani, who recently joined Trump’s legal team dealing with the Russian investigation said Trump had reimbursed his lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels the sum right before the election.

The disclosure contradicts Trump’s own firm statement, made on Air Force One last month, that he had no knowledge of his private lawyer Michael Cohen having paid Daniels the $130,000 sum.

Daniels says the payment was made to keep her quiet over an alleged affair.

"They funnelled it through a law firm and the president repaid it," Giuliani, who told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

He said that the repayment was made "over a period of several months".

Giuliani added that the transaction was legal and did not represent a campaign contribution because it was "not campaign money".

Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has since said that Americans "should be outraged" at Giuliani's comments.

"We predicted months ago that it would be proven that the American people had been lied to as to the $130k payment and what Trump knew," he wrote on Twitter.

“This is exactly what we predicted would ultimately be shown. Every American, regardless of their politics, should be outraged.”

Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer

After denying the payment, Cohen eventually admitted he had paid the sum privately to Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, in October 2016 out of his own funds in exchange for her silence.

He has denied that Trump was a party to the transaction.

In a statement to the New York Times, Cohen said neither the Trump campaign nor the Trump organisation knew anything about the payment, and he said he had not been repaid.

The payment relates to allegations by Daniels that she had sex with Trump in 2006, allegations he denies.

In March this year, Daniels filed a lawsuit against the president, alleging that the non-disclosure agreement was invalid because Trump did not sign it.

While Trump has denied her claims, his lawyers are seeking $20m in damages from Daniels, arguing she broke the non-disclosure deal.

Daniels is also suing the president over a "defamatory" tweet he posted after she said she was threatened by a man in a Las Vegas car park to drop her allegations of the affair.

Trump said her claims were "a total con job".