Hope Hicks, former White House communications director. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press )

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks to reporters outside the White House on May 3. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press )


Michael Cohen in Manhattan on April 11. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press )

Rudolph W. Giuliani at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 20, 2016. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press )


Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018

...very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair,...... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018

...despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair. Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018


michael.finnegan@latimes.com

Twitter: @finneganLAT


UPDATES:

May 4, 12:20 p.m.: This article was updated with comments made by President Trump and Rudolph W. Giuliani on Friday.

This article was originally published May 3 at 7:30 p.m.