Trump breaks silence on Stormy Daniels, says he doesn't know where the money came from to silence porn star

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, March 25, 2018, after returning from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

• President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged a $130,000 payment his attorney made to porn star Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, in 2016 for the first time on Thursday.
• Trump denies knowing anything about the payment, including where his lawyer, Michael Cohen, got the money from.

For the first time, President Donald Trump has publicly acknowledged a $130,000 payment his attorney made to a porn star in 2016.

Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said he didn't know at the time that Michael Cohen, his personal lawyer, made the payment to Stormy Daniels and that he doesn't know where Cohen got the money.

When asked why Cohen made the payment to the porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, Trump refused to answer.

"You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney," he said. "You'll have to ask Michael."

Clifford claims that she had sex with Trump once in 2006, a few months after Trump's wife Melania gave birth to the couple's son, Barron. She also claims she continued to communicate with Trump for several months.

Just ten days before the 2016 election, Cohen paid $130,000 of what he says was his personal money to Clifford to compel her to stay silent about the alleged affair.

Cohen, who has admitted to facilitating the $130,000 payment, denied the negotiations or the payment were made on behalf of the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders continues to maintain that the president denies having any relationship with Clifford and did not know about the payment or the non-disclosure agreement.