Donald Trump\u2019s long-time personal lawyer has said Mr Trump directed him to buy the silence of two women during the 2016 campaign because he was concerned about how their stories of alle<\/b>
\nBy Michael Balsamo, Associated Press
December 14 2018 3:03 PM
Donald Trump\u2019s long-time personal lawyer has said Mr Trump directed him to buy the silence of two women during the 2016 campaign because he was concerned about how their stories of alleged affairs would affect the election.
Michael Cohen, speaking in an interview with ABC, said Mr Trump knew the payments were wrong.
The lawyer \u2014 who for more than a decade was a key player in the Trump Organisation and a fixture in Mr Trump\u2019s political life \u2014 said he \u201cgave loyalty to someone who, truthfully, does not deserve loyalty\u201d.
EXCLUSIVE: Fmr. Trump attorney, sentenced to 3 years in prison for various crimes including campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, Michael Cohen, breaks his silence with @GStephanopoulos. FULL @GMA STORY: https:\/\/t.co\/4ehqd1fP6A TRANSCRIPT: https:\/\/t.co\/sTCn23S6sb pic.twitter.com\/HI8XfS6SUu
Cohen said \u201cof course\u201d Mr Trump knew it was wrong to make the hush-money payments, but he did not provide any specific evidence or detail in the interview.
Federal law requires that any payments made \u201cfor the purposes of influencing\u201d an election must be reported in campaign finance disclosures.
Speaking to ABC\u2019s George Stephanopoulos, Cohen appeared shaken over the series of events that swiftly took him from being Mr Trump\u2019s \u201cfixer\u201d to a man facing three years in prison.
\u201cI am done with the lying,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cI am done being loyal to President Trump.
\u201cI will not be the villain of this story.\u201d
People of the United States of America, people of the world, don’t believe what he is saying. The man doesn’t tell the truth. And it is sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds
Michael Cohen
Cohen was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to several charges, including campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
Prosecutors said Mr Trump directed him to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign.
The decision to pay off Daniels, who alleged she had sex with a married Mr Trump in 2006, was made soon after an old Access Hollywood tape surfaced in which Mr Trump was heard talking about groping and trying to have sex with women, Cohen said.
\u201cHe was very concerned about how this would affect the election,\u201d Cohen said.
The hush money was not initially reported on campaign finance documents and, in any case, far exceeded the legally acceptable amount for in-kind contributions.
As to whether Mr Trump knew it was wrong to make the payments, Cohen said: \u201cFirst of all, nothing at the Trump Organisation was ever done unless it was run through Mr Trump.
\u201cHe directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters.\u201d
The president has denied directing Cohen to break the law and has claimed in a barrage of tweets over the last few weeks that Cohen is a \u201cliar\u201d who cut a deal to get a reduced prison sentence.
I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called \u201cadvice of counsel,\u201d and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid. Despite that many campaign finance lawyers have strongly……
Loyalty has long been a core value for Mr Trump, who has been stung by the behaviour of Cohen and other former associates who have dissociated themselves from the president, intent on saving themselves.
The list also includes former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman and ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.
\u201cHe knows the truth. I know the truth. Others know the truth,\u201d Cohen said.
\u201cAnd here is the truth: People of the United States of America, people of the world, don\u2019t believe what he is saying. The man doesn\u2019t tell the truth. And it is sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds.
\u201cInstead of him taking responsibility for his actions, what does he do? He attacks my family.\u201d
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid 130,000 dollars as part of a non-disclosure agreement signed days before the 2016 election and she is currently suing to dissolve that contract.
In August 2016, the parent company of the tabloid National Enquirer reached a 150,000 dollar deal to pay McDougal for her story of a 2006 affair, which it never published, a tabloid practice known as catch and kill.
Cohen insisted he just reviewed the McDougal deal and said the payment was negotiated directly between Mr Trump and David Pecker, the chief executive of the tabloid\u2019s parent company.
Press Association
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