Trump repaid porn actor’s Tk 10 mn hush money

US President Donald Trump personally repaid his lawyer the $130,000 that was used to buy an adult porn film actor’s silence about an alleged affair, his legal aide Rudy Giuliani has said.

It appears to contradict Mr Trump, who said he did not know about the payment made by lawyer Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Mr Trump has denied Ms Daniels’ claims of an affair in 2006.

Mr Giuliani said no campaign finance was used, a key issue in the matter.

What did Mr Giuliani say and why?

The former New York City mayor recently joined Mr Trump’s legal team and was talking to Sean Hannity on Fox News.

The campaign finance issue appears to be one his main motives - to deny that there was any wrongdoing.

Mr Cohen’s $130,000 (£95,650) payment to Ms Daniels just before the 2016 election could count as an illegal contribution to President Trump’s campaign.

Mr Giuliani said: “That money was not campaign money. Sorry, I’m giving you a fact now that you don’t know. It’s not campaign money. No campaign finance violation.

“They funnelled it through a law firm and the president repaid it.”

Mr Giuliani said the repayment was made “over a period of several months”.

He added that the president "didn't know about the specifics of it, as far as I know, but he did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this".

Does this contradict the president?

When asked by reporters a month ago if he knew about the payment to Ms Daniels, Mr Trump said: "No."

When asked why the payment was given to Ms Daniels, he added: "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen."

The president might argue that the lawyer "took care of things like this", as Mr Giuliani suggested and that he knew nothing of the "specifics", making the repayment personally later.

Speaking on Fox TV last week, Mr Trump suggested some knowledge of the matter in admitting Mr Cohen had represented him during the "crazy Stormy Daniels deal", but did not go into specifics.

What has been the reaction?

Ms Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said that Americans "should be outraged" at Mr Giuliani's comments.

"We predicted months ago that it would be proven that the American people had been lied to as to the $130k payment and what Mr Trump knew," he wrote on Twitter.

He told Associated Press: "Mr Trump evidently has participated in a felony and there must be serious consequences for his conduct and his lies and deception to the American people," he said.

Source: BBC