Both Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels are denying reports of a ‘hush money’ payoff. (Reuters)
A personal lawyer for President Trump and a former porn star both denied a late Friday report claiming the adult-film actress was paid in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen arranged the payment of $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, in October 2016. This reportedly was after she and her lawyer negotiated a nondisclosure agreement to prevent her from publicly discussing the supposed sexual encounter with the billionaire businessman.
But Cohen vehemently denied the claim.
“These rumors have circulated time and again since 2011," Cohen said in a statement to Fox News. "President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms.Daniels.”
In a letter, obtained and reviewed by Fox News, Clifford also denied all allegations.
Letter from Stormy Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford, denying allegations of any sexual encounter with Donald Trump.
"I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,” Clifford said in a letter signed by "Stormy Daniels." “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.”
Clifford wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was “gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.”
“Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the letter read. “If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true.”
The Journal previously reported that Clifford had been weighing an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” last fall to discuss Trump.
On Friday, the Journal reported that the payment was made through Clifford's lawyer.
This would have come as Trump was facing mounting allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate remarks, including the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.
Trump has long rejected the accusations from over a dozen women who have made such claims against him. The White House, at the time, called those revived accusations “false.”
This week, Cohen filed a "defamation action" against BuzzFeed News and its editor-in-chief over allegations about him that were published in the anti-Trump dossier compiled by a former British spy.
Cohen also filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Fusion GPS, the research firm that hired former MI6 agent Christopher Steele to compile the dossier.
Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.
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