Porn star Stormy Daniels — despite briefly capitalizing on her resurrected notoriety — has actually done her best to coyly downplay (while still casting doubt upon specifics) her reported sexual encounter with Donald Trump. Jimmy Kimmel tried to talk Daniels into dishing some dirt despite her nondisclosure agreement, and she resisted, but fortunately for those who find entertainment within politics, Trump’s personal lawyer is spilling that proverbial tea.
That is to say, attorney Michael Cohen is spilling that tea upon himself, and it’s scalding hot stuff. Cohen has artfully thrown himself under a bus for unknown reasons, for he issued an unexpected statement to declare that the reported $130,000 that was paid to Daniels did happen, and Cohen said the money paid to Daniels (real name: Stephanie Clifford) came from his own pockets:
“In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford. Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly.”
No one really knows why Cohen issued this statement (it may have had something to do with an FEC complaint) — or whether he made the decision to do so on his own or through prodding from someone else. Cohen also refused to clarify whether Trump was aware of the $130,000 payment made to Daniels. Perhaps the true motive for Cohen’s actions will eventually surface, but for now, it’s worth remembering that Cohen’s often-childish retorts to valid questions generally lead nowhere. In other words, the mystery shall continue…
(Via New York Times)