Trump discloses payment to Michael Cohen, lawyer who paid Stormy Daniels $130,000
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Version 1 of 2. New financial disclosure forms filed by President Donald Trump acknowledge that the president reimbursed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, for more than $100,000 worth expenses during the 2016 election campaign. The new financial forms did not explicitly say what the payments were for. However lawyers for Mr Trump have previously said that the president reimbursed Mr Cohen for the $130,000 payment he made to ensure the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels. "In 2016, expenses were incurred by one of the Donald J Trump's attorneys, Michael Cohen," the new financial disclosure forms, which were released to the public by the Office of Government Ethics, reads. "Mr Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr Trump fully reimbursed Mr Cohen in 2017," it continues. "The category of value would be $100,001-$250,000 and the interest rate would be zero." Mr Trump's representatives repeatedly say in the filing that the president was not required by law to disclose the payment, and said that they were doing so in the form "in the interest of transparency". Shortly after the forms were made public Wednesday, the US Office of Government Ethics said the payments should have been disclosed in Mr Trump's financial filings from last year. All told, the financial disclosure form is 92 pages long. Ms Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, shortly after Melania Trump, the first lady, gave birth to Barron Trump. The White House has also denied the affair took place. Members of Mr Trump's legal team have offered various accounts as to whether Mr Trump personally reimbursed Mr Cohen. Mr Cohen has admitted a payment to Ms Daniels was made but has not articulated what it was for. |