Trump's lawyer reportedly paid a porn star $130,000 just before the election to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump
- President Donald Trump's top lawyer, Michael Cohen, reportedly paid $130,000 in hush money to a porn star so that she wouldn't discuss an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
- The alleged sexual encounter happened between Trump and Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, at a July 2006 celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
One of President Donald Trump's most trusted lawyers sent $130,000 in hush money to a porn star just weeks before the 2016 presidential election to keep her silent about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter she had with the then-Republican presidential nominee, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The newspaper reported that Michael Cohen, who served as the Trump Organization's top attorney for about a decade, arranged for the payment to Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, in October 2016 after a negotiation between her lawyer and Cohen on a nondisclosure agreement, sources said.
The sexual encounter allegedly happened between Trump and Clifford at a July 2006 celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Trump married his third wife, Melania Trump, in 2005.
Though Trump faced more than a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct, dating back decades, during the campaign, The Journal reported that alleged encounter between Trump and Clifford was consensual.
"These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election," a White House official told The Journal of the alleged encounter, though they did not answer questions about the $130,000. Cohen released a statement to The Journal as well, saying that Trump "once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels."
He did not address the payment as well.
"This is now the second time that you are raising outlandish allegations against my client," Cohen added. "You have attempted to perpetuate this false narrative for over a year; a narrative that has been consistently denied by all parties since at least 2011."
Cohen, the Journal reported, sent a two-paragraph statement over email addressed "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN," signed by "Stormy Daniels," which denied that she engaged in a "sexual and/or romantic affair" with Trump.
"Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false," the statement said.
Clifford did not respond to The Journal, which added that Clifford's "camp complained the payment wasn't being made quickly enough and threatened to cancel the deal," according to people familiar with the ordeal.
The Journal also published a 2006 photo of Trump with Clifford from her Myspace account.
Another adult film star, Jessica Drake, alleged in October 2016 that Trump engaged in sexual misconduct with her at that same 2006 golf tournament. The White House called that claim "totally false and ridiculous."