President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer says Trump directed him to buy the silence of two women during the 2016 campaign because he was concerned their stories of alleged affairs with him \u00ab\u00a0would affect the election.\u00a0\u00bb.<\/b>
\nThe Latest on Michael Cohen and President Donald Trump (all times local):
4 p.m.
President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer says Trump directed him to buy the silence of two women during the 2016 campaign because he was concerned their stories of alleged affairs with him \u00ab\u00a0would affect the election.\u00a0\u00bb He says Trump knew the payments were wrong.
Michael Cohen says he \u00ab\u00a0gave loyalty to someone who, truthfully, does not deserve loyalty.\u00a0\u00bb Cohen spoke in an interview with ABC that aired Friday on \u00ab\u00a0Good Morning America.\u00a0\u00bb
Cohen says that \u00ab\u00a0of course\u00a0\u00bb Trump knew it was wrong to make the hush-money payments, but he did not provide any specific evidence or detail in the interview.
The White House is dismissing Cohen’s accusations. Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley blasted the media for taking Cohen seriously and \u00ab\u00a0giving credence to a convicted criminal.\u00a0\u00bb
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11:30 a.m.
The White House is dismissing the accusations from President Donald Trump’s former fixer that Trump directed hush money payments to two women during the presidential campaign to buy their silence about alleged affairs.
Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley on Friday blasted the media for taking Michael Cohen seriously and \u00ab\u00a0giving credence to a convicted criminal.\u00a0\u00bb
Cohen said in an interview aired Friday on ABC’s \u00ab\u00a0Good Morning America\u00a0\u00bb that Trump directed the payments in 2016 so the women’s stories would not damage his election chances.
The former attorney this week was sentenced to three years in prison. Prosecutors have indicated that Cohen made the payments at Trump’s behalf.
Gidley called Cohen a \u00ab\u00a0self-admitted liar\u00a0\u00bb and said \u00ab\u00a0there are documents to prove it\u00a0\u00bb but did not elaborate.
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7:11 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer says he bought the silence of two women because Trump was \u00ab\u00a0very concerned\u00a0\u00bb about how their stories of alleged affairs with him \u00ab\u00a0would affect the election.\u00a0\u00bb
In an interview with ABC News that aired Friday, Michael Cohen said he \u00ab\u00a0gave loyalty to someone who, truthfully, does not deserve loyalty.\u00a0\u00bb
Cohen was sentenced Wednesday to three years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to several charges, including campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
Prosecutors have said Trump directed Cohen 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.
Cohen says he’s angry with himself for the deals.
Trump has denied he directed Cohen to break the law.<\/p>\n