Stormy Daniels hush money

Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen said that he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to a pornography actor who allegedly had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006.

Cohen said in a statement to the New York Times that he was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign for the payment to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Cohen wrote, “The payment to Ms Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.”

Cohen told the Times he had delivered a similar statement to the Federal Election Commission in response to a complaint filed by Common Cause, a government watchdog group.

Porn actor Stormy Daniels casts doubt on denial of affair with Trump

Common Cause had asked the FEC to investigate the source of the $130,000 payment and determine whether it represented an excessive campaign contribution. Cohen told the Times, “The allegations in the complaint are factually unsupported and without legal merit.”

  Guardian

So, let me get this straight. The story was that the hush money might have been paid with campaign contributions - which would have been bad - and not that a porn star had successfully in essence blackmailed the president over a possible sex scandal?

Or that Trump lied when he "vehemently" denied her accusations.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

That "out of his own pocket" phrase is also now the story.

The press is widely reporting, apparently based on this statement, that Cohen said he paid the $130,000 to Daniels out of his own pocket. The phrase "out of his own pocket" seems to be used by pretty much every story. "Trump's Longtime Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket," the New York Times headline says. And the Fox News headline is similar: "Michael Cohen, Trump's lawyer, says he paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 out of own pocket."

Now, clearly the most important part of the story is verification from the President's own personal lawyer that, in 2016, he was himself involved in paying $130,000 to a porn star who had claimed to have had an affair with the President. I'm old enough to remember when something like that would have been a major Presidential scandal. That seems like a long time ago.

But, with my apologies, let me focus on one really small part of the story: Does Cohen actually say he paid the $130,000 out of his own pocket? If Cohen's statement above is the only statement he has made, which as far as I can tell is the case, he never actually says that. All Cohen says is that he used his personal funds to "facilitate a payment of $130,000."

[...]

I would think that the most literal reading of Cohen's statement is just that he used his own funds to arrange the payment. He's not making any statement about whose $130,000 was paid. For example, if it took Cohen a few hundred dollars to set up an entity to pay Daniels, and to wire someone else's $130,000 to her, then he would have been using his own personal funds to faciltate that payment. Sending on the money would be a transaction between two parties, Daniels and the entity Cohen set up, and there would have been no need to reimburse Cohen $130,000 because it wasn't Cohen's money that was sent.

  Reason

Facilitate could also mean he paid her the whole amount and was reimbursed. He also could have marked down Trump's personal retainer - or however he pays Cohen - by the same amount. Not sure it matters whether he said it came out of his own pocket or not.

UPDATE:

That, too.

UPDATE March 6, 2018:

President Trump’s lawyer complained to friends following the 2016 election that he had not been reimbursed for his payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Michael Cohen paid Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement that ensured she would not speak about an alleged 2006 affair with Trump.

Cohen last month acknowledged that he made the payment, and denied it violated any campaign finance laws.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen was working to secure a deal with Clifford’s representatives in October 2016, but was unable to track down Trump. As a result, he used his own funds to wire money to Clifford’s lawyer.

  The Hill

That's rich. Turmp hiding from his own lawyer to stiff him on a payment of hush money to a porn star Trump was galavanting with.

Cohen’s bank later flagged the wire transaction as suspicious and reported it to the Treasury Department, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Neither Cohen’s bank nor Clifford’s lawyer’s bank commented to The Wall Street Journal.

Clifford reportedly threatened to cancel the nondisclosure agreement just days before the 2016 election.

Because she wasn't getting her payment!