U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer says he paid $130,000 of his own money to a pornographic actress who once claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Trump about 12 years ago.

Attorney Michael Cohen said he paid adult film star Stephanie Clifford, who performs under the name ‘Stormy Daniels’, before the 2016 presidential election as part of a non-disclosure agreement.

“In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford,” Cohen said in a statement.

Cohen also said neither the Trump Organization, the holding company for all of Trump’s business ventures, nor the Trump campaign was involved in the transaction. He added he was not compensated for the payment “either directly or indirectly.”

Cohen, who said he has served as Trump’s lawyer for more than a decade, made it clear he is more committed than ever to protecting the interests of his client.

“Just because something isn’t true doesn’t mean that it can’t cause you harm or damage. I will always protect Mr. Trump.”

Cohen did not say whether Trump was aware of the payment or why he made the payment. Cohen has previously denied Trump had an affair with Clifford.

The Wall Street Journal initially reported in January that Clifford was paid in October 2016 in exchange for not disclosing information about the alleged affair with Trump.

After the report was published, the government watchdog group Common Cause filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission requesting an investigation into the source of the payment. The complaint contends the payment was an in-kind donation to Trump’s campaign that should have been included in its official reports that are publicly disclosed.

Later in January, In Touch magazine published an interview with Clifford that was conducted in 2011, during which she alleged that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, soon after Trump’s third wife, Melania, gave birth to their son Barron.

At the end of January, however, a statement attributed to Clifford said the affair never happened. But in a televised interview on the same day, she appeared to deny the statement, maintaining she was not aware of its origins and the signature was not similar to hers.

Source: VOA

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