Giuliani Says Trump Paid Back Stormy Daniels Payment, Addresses Comey Firing
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is now one of President Trump's attorneys, said in a Fox News Channel interview last night (May 2nd) that Trump paid back his longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen for the $130,000 in hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. That appears to contradict previous claims from Trump that he didn't know about the payment and didn't know why Cohen had made it or where the money came from. Trump has also denied the sexual encounter Daniels claims they had in 2006, shortly after his wife Melania gave birth to their son.
During an appearance on Sean Hannity's show last night, Giuliani said the money had been, quote, "funneled . . . through the law firm and the president repaid it." Asked if Trump knew about the arrangement, Giuliani said: "He 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, like I take care of things like this for my clients. I don’t burden them with every single thing that comes along. These are busy people." Giuliani said Trump repaid Cohen over several months, and that the payment, quote, "is going to turn out to be perfectly legal . . . because that money was not campaign money." The payment to Daniels has raised legal questions, including whether it was an illegal campaign contribution and, now, potentially an unreported loan to the campaign.
Giuliani Blasts Mueller Probe, Comey, Addresses Comey's Firing
During the same interview, Giuliani also blasted Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, saying it should be ended, quote, "in the interest of justice," and laid into former FBI Director James Comey, calling him a "disgraceful liar" and a "very perverted man." Giuliani also addressed Trump's firing of Comey, saying, "He fired Comey because Comey would not, among other things, say that he wasn't a target of the investigation. He’s entitled to that. Hillary Clinton got that and he couldn’t get that. So he fired him and he said, 'I’m free of this guy.'"
Trump linked Comey's firing to the Russia probe in a May 2017 NBC News interview soon after it happened, saying, "I was going to fire Comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. And, in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election.'"
(Pulse Networks)