Donald Trump has declared the campaign finance violations his former lawyer Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to are "not a crime" breaking his silence over charges that implicate him.

Appearing in a New York court, Mr Cohen testified that the president had directed him to commit a crime by arranging payments to silence two women who allege affairs with Mr Trump before the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Cohen told Judge William Pauley III that “in coordination with, and at the direction of, a candidate for federal office” he arranged payments to two women “for the principal purpose of influencing the election.”

Adult film star Stormy Daniels was given $130,000 and former Playboy model Karen McDougal was paid $150,000. Mr Trump denies all allegations of affairs.

Mr Cohen did not name Mr Trump in court, but his lawyer, Lanny Davis, said afterward that he was referring to the president.

“Today he (Cohen) stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election,” Mr Davis said in a statement.

“If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?” Mr Davis said.

Mr Davis went further on Wednesday, saying that Mr Cohen would not accept a presidential pardon. In a round of television interviews, Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, said Mr Trump's former longtime lawyer saw the wanted no part in what he saw as the president's abuse of his clemency power.

“He will not, and does not want anything from Donald Trump,” Davis told MSNBC. “The president of the United States is a criminal," he continued.