Trump says he didn't know about payment to Stormy Daniels

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP):

United States President Donald Trump said yesterday he didn't know about the $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to Stormy Daniels, issuing a firm denial in his first public comments about the adult-film actress who alleges she had an affair with him.

Asked aboard Air Force One whether he knew about the payment, Trump said flatly: "No."

Trump also said he didn't know why his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, had made the payment or where the attorney got the money, saying, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."

Until now, Trump had avoided any questions on Daniels, though the White House has consistently said Trump denies there was a relationship. Still, he has been dogged by the focus on the porn actress, who says she had a sexual encounter with the president in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet about it as part of a non-disclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels is now seeking to invalidate that agreement.

Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted in response to Trump yesterday that, "We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr Trump's feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment as stated on Air Force One."

"As history teaches us," he added, "it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath."

Avenatti then told The Associated Press: "I don't believe the feigned denial, but we're going to put it to the test."

One of several women pursuing potentially damaging legal actions, Daniels has kept up the highest profile in the news, helped by a punchy Twitter feed, a widely viewed interview on "60 Minutes" and a camera-ready attorney who has become a fixture on cable news.