Donald Trump 'had no knowledge' of porn star Stormy Daniels' hush payment
The President has addressed claims from Stormy Daniels for the first time since her tell-all interview over their alleged affair.
Thursday 5 April 2018 23:30, UK
Donald Trump has said he had no knowledge of a hush payment made by his lawyer to the porn star who alleges they had an affair.
Addressing the claims from Stormy Daniels for the first time since she detailed the 2006 sexual encounter in an interview with CBS last month, the President told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that he did not know why personal attorney Michael Cohen had made the $130,000 (£92,833) payment - or where he got the money.
He said: "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."
:: Top 10 Daniels claims about her 'affair' with Trump
Mr Cohen told the Wall Street Journal in February that he had paid the sum out of his own pocket to keep Ms Daniels - real name Stephanie Clifford - from speaking out over the alleged affair during the 2016 presidential campaign.
He insisted that neither the Trump Organisation nor the Republican nominee's team were involved, adding that the payment was legal.
Ms Daniels has since moved to invalidate the non-disclosure agreement over the affair, which she claims involved unprotected sex with Mr Trump after he invited her to his hotel room, then pulled his trousers down.
She said it happened in July 2006, shortly after Mr Trump's wife, Melania, gave birth to the President's youngest son.
Following Mr Trump's comments on Thursday, Ms Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted: "We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump's feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment as stated on Air Force One.
"As history teaches us, it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath."
Mr Avenatti has previously claimed he is holding back further details of the alleged affair, including the contents of a data disc he tweeted a picture of last month, for strategic reasons.
He has also said he wants to question Mr Trump and Mr Cohen over the hush payment, with his client having last week filed a motion seeking to depose the President, who has always denied the affair took place.
If successful, it would be the first deposition of a sitting president since Bill Clinton in 1998, when the Democrat had to answer questions about his encounter with Paula Jones, a former state employee who sued him for sexual harassment.
A hearing in Los Angeles is set for 30 April.