When False Claims Were Made That Trump Never Reimbursed His Lawyer the $130K Paid To Stormy Daniels

In 2018, a claim surfaced that Donald Trump never reimbursed his lawyer for a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. This claim turned out to be false. The story began in January 2018 when the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, had paid Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. At first, Cohen said he used his own money. He didn't explain why he made the payment. The Wall Street Journal then reported that Cohen complained he hadn't been paid back by Trump.

Cohen called this "Fake News" in a short email to the newspaper. The plot thickened when the bank Cohen used to wire the money, flagged the transaction as suspicious. They reported it to the Treasury Department. Cohen had set up a company just to make this payment. He almost didn't make it in time, saying he couldn't reach Trump in the final days of the campaign. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, saw an opportunity. She said Cohen's admission about the payment broke their agreement. Now she felt free to talk about her alleged relationship with Trump.

The story took a turn in May 2018. Trump filed an ethics disclosure that showed he had repaid Cohen. This was the first time Trump admitted to the repayment and it raised new questions about the previous denials from Trump and his team. The disclosure said Trump paid Cohen back in 2017 for an expense from 2016. The amount was between $100,001 and $250,000. This matched the $130,000 payment to Daniels. This revelation caused a stir and the watchdog groups and Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about possible campaign finance law violations. They said the payment should have been reported as a campaign expense. Paul S. Ryan from Common Cause said this put Trump "at the middle of all of the campaign finance violations," as per Reuters.

Trump's team changed their story several times. At first, they denied knowing about the payment, then they said Trump didn't reimburse Cohen. Finally, they admitted to the reimbursement but said it wasn't related to the campaign. Rudy Giuliani, who had joined Trump's legal team, confirmed the reimbursement. He said Trump paid Cohen back through monthly retainer fees. This contradicted earlier statements from both Trump and Cohen. The changing explanations raised more questions. Why did Trump initially deny knowing about the payment? Why did it take so long to admit the reimbursement? These inconsistencies fueled further investigation and media scrutiny.

Legal experts debated whether the payment and reimbursement violated campaign finance laws. Some argued it was an illegal campaign contribution. Others said it was a personal matter unrelated to the campaign. The controversy didn't end there. In 2019, Cohen testified to Congress about the payment. He provided copies of checks from Trump and his organization, which he said were reimbursements for the hush money. This testimony contradicted Trump's earlier denials and raised new legal questions.