United States Presidential personal attorney Donald Trump says he paid $ 130,000 or Rp1.8 billion using personal cash for a porn actress who allegedly had sex with his client before taking office.
"In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own money to facilitate the payment of $ 130 thousand for Stephanie Clifford," Michael Cohen said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign team was involved in a transaction with Clifford, nor did they redeem my expenses for the payments, directly or indirectly."
Just a few weeks before the 2016 general election, Cohen reportedly set up a limited company to pay Clifford, a porn actress known as Stormy Daniels, following an alleged relationship with Trump.
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Following a preliminary report last month calling Cohen make the payment, he said Trump "strongly denies" the relationship between the two.
In January, the Common Cause organization filed a lawsuit to the Federal Election Commission and the Ministry of Justice, pointing Clifford's payments to the campaign team's financial offense.
However, on Tuesday, Cohen's statement denied the allegations. He stated the transaction was "valid" and "not a contribution to the campaign."
"The payment to Clifford is valid, and not a contribution to campaign or campaign spending by anyone," Cohen said.
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Cohen also said he filed a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, but the move would not be published until the agency resolves the issue.
When asked why he made the payment, Cohen said: "Just because something is not right does not mean it can hurt you, I will always protect Trump."