President Donald Trump denied knowing about a $130,000 payment his lawyer made to Stephanie Clifford, a former adult film star, in the month before the 2016 presidential election, commenting for the first time on a payment that has dogged the White House since first reported by The Wall Street Journal in January.

Asked on Thursday aboard the flight returning from an event in West Virginia whether he had known about the payment at the time to the former actress known professionally as Stormy Daniels, Mr. Trump responded: “No.”

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