In a wide-ranging interview on Fox News' "Hannity" on Wednesday
night, Rudy Giuliani told host Sean Hannity that President Donald Trump
reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, $130,000 that Cohen
paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election
in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
"That money was not campaign money," said Giuliani, a
recent addition to Trump's legal team who is also a former mayor of New
York City and Republican presidential candidate. "It's not campaign
money. No campaign finance violation."
"They funneled the payment through [Cohen's] law firm," Hannity said.
"Funneled it through the law firm and the president repaid it," Giuliani said.
But Giuliani later clarified for Fox News that the
money Trump paid to Cohen was for unspecified "expenses," and that the
president was unaware that money would be going to Daniels.
A spokesman said the White House had no comment on the matter, citing an ongoing investigation.
'Over several months'
On "Hannity," Giuliani said Trump repaid Cohen "over
several months" by putting him on a "retainer of $35,000 when he was
doing no work for the president."
"I said, 'That's how he's repaying it, with a little
profit and a little margin for paying taxes,'" said Giuliani, who added
that Trump "didn’t know about the specifics of [the payment], 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."
Last month, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that
he had no knowledge about the payment Cohen made to Daniels. When asked
why Cohen sent Daniels the money, the president answered: "You'll have
to ask Michael Cohen - Michael's my attorney."
Days later, federal agents raided Cohen's home, office and hotel room in New York City.
After Giuliani's appearance on "Hannity," sources
familiar with the matter told Fox News that Trump did in fact repay
Cohen the $130,000 Cohen paid to Daniels, over several months.
While the source did not know why Trump said he had no
knowledge of the payments in the Air Force One gaggle, the source
confirmed that the president knowingly paid Cohen back.
The net effect of the disclosure, the source said, is
that it takes any potential Federal Election Commission violation off
the table as Trump paid the money from his personal funds. The argument
here is that if Trump paid the money himself, there was no illegal
campaign contribution.
The source said that while the matter was “embarrassing
for the president, it strikes a blow to the heart of the U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of New York’s case.
The source did not know the exact timing of when the
payments to Cohen began and ended. The source believes the repayments
started after the transaction with Daniels was completed.
Later Wednesday, Giuliani clarified to Fox News that
the president reimbursed Cohen for "expenses," not for a payment to
Daniels.
Giuliani said Cohen told the president that he had
incurred the expenses on Trump’s behalf and they required repayment. The
former mayor said Trump was not aware that the expenses included a
$130,000 payment to Daniels.
Trump became aware of it, Giuliani said, only after the case became public.
Giuliani said the payments continued into 2017, but
were completed before the Daniels non-disclosure-agreement story broke.
He said he spoke with Trump before his appearance on "Hannity" and that
Trump was aware of what Giuliani was going to say on the show.
Porn star's lawyer responds
Meanwhile, Michael Avenatti, attorney for Daniels, tweeted his reaction to Giuliani's "Hannity" 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, when he knew it and what he did in connection with it,"
Avenatti wrote. "Every American, regardless of their politics, should be
outraged...
"...by what we have now learned. Mr. Trump stood on AF1
and blatantly lied. This followed the lies told by others close to him,
including Mr. Cohen. This should never be acceptable in our America. We
will not rest until justice is served.
#basta"
"Basta," in Spanish and Italian, means "Enough!"
Later, in an appearance on "Fox News @ Night" with
Shannon Bream, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said
White House officials were unaware of what topics would be discussed on
the "Hannity" show, and declined to comment on the $130,000 payment,
citing an ongoing investigation.
"I have to refer anything on this matter to the president's outside counsel," Gidley told Bream.
Comey a 'liar'
Also in Giuliani's "Hannity" interview, Giuliani told
Hannity that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General
Rod Rosenstein should end Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation
into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials
"in the interest of justice."
"There's been too much government misconduct," Giuliani
said. "The crimes now have all been committed by the government and
their agents."
The former mayor also called for former FBI Director
James Comey to be prosecuted for leaking classified information, at one
point calling him "a disgraceful liar."
"I have never, ever... leaked a damn thing," said
Giuliani, referring to his time as a U.S. Attorney. "I would have
considered resigning if I ever did that."
Comey, who was fired by Trump as FBI director in May
2017, has admitted giving memos about his conversations with President
Trump to at least three people -- including members of his legal team.
He has claimed that the memos were personal documents, not government
property.
Giuliani said that Trump had dismissed Comey because
"Comey would not, among other things, say that [Trump] wasn't a target
of the [Russia] investigation. He's entitled to that. Hillary Clinton
got that [during the email investigation.] And he couldn't get that.
"You can't blame the president for feeling, 'I am not being treated the same way [Clinton was]," Giuliani said.
At one point, Giuliani addressed Comey directly, saying
that "every FBI agent in America has his head down because of you. It
would be good ... if God had kept you out of being the head of the FBI."