Fox News host Sean Hannity speculated Tuesday night that President Trump’s former longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen may have been forced by prosecutors to change his story about whether Trump knew about hush money payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump.
“I would argue, knowing him all the years I’ve known him, probably forced by prosecutors, he’s changed his story about whether or not Trump knew about the payment to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal,” Hannity said.
While pleading guilty to eight criminal counts Tuesday, which included tax fraud, false statements to a bank, and campaign finance violations, Cohen admitted he had paid the porn star and former Playboy model for their silence weeks before the election at the direction of the “candidate.”
Cohen said in February he had facilitated a $130,000 payment to Daniels, adding that he was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign. He did not specify at the time whether Trump himself had a role in the payment.
In April, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One he was not aware that his personal attorney had paid Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair, which he denies happened.
Whether or not Trump knew about the payoff became murkier when Rudy Giuliani, who is representing Trump in the Russia investigation, admitted during a television interview in May that Trump had reimbursed Cohen.
Last month Cohen released a secret recording of a conversation in which Trump appears to acknowledge he knew about the payments to silence McDougal, who was paid $150,000 by the National Enquirer for her story. The tabloid did not publish the story and her acceptance of the payment prevented McDougal from speaking publicly about the alleged affair.
[Related: Trump’s ‘bad week’: Manafort found guilty, Cohen enters plea deal]
