Just last month, President Trump told the American people that he knew nothing about how Stormy Daniels received $130,000 in hush money. His lawyer, Michael Cohen, has insisted for months that he had kept Mr. Trump completely in the dark and that he had handled the entire matter on his own as a personal favor to the man for whom he would “take a bullet.”

Enter Rudy Giuliani. On Wednesday night, the former mayor of New York and Mr. Trump’s latest legal fixer went on Fox News — where else? — to offer a new version of the Stormy Daniels affair. The president, Mr. Giuliani insisted, had in fact reimbursed Mr. Cohen the $130,000. Even the show’s host, Sean Hannity — another Cohen client — appeared stunned.

What in the world was going on?

The most generous read of Wednesday night’s showpiece is that Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Trump have made a calculated decision that Mr. Cohen faces real legal peril for having given an illegal campaign contribution in the form of the Stormy Daniels payment, and that Mr. Trump might be subject to co-conspirator liability. The best defense against a Cohen conviction — or worse, a plea deal — on these grounds would be for Mr. Trump to take credit for the payment, since the candidate can give as much money as he wants to his own campaign.

But whatever the plan, Mr. Giuliani’s comments have turned the heat up on the president.

Judging from Mr. Giuliani’s contrived and ham-handed delivery, it seems likely that this was a highly coordinated affair. Indeed, according to Robert Costa of The Washington Post, Mr. Giuliani said the president was “very pleased” with his remarks.