White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday that President Trump does not believe he’s above the law.
“No,” Sanders said twice when asked that question during the daily White House press briefing.
The question came amid major developments relating to an October 2016 nondisclosure deal used to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with Trump.
Trump’s new personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that Trump repaid attorney Michael Cohen $130,000 in hush money for Daniels in order to keep her from spreading the untrue story of their affair, raising campaign finance questions.
Shortly after the acknowledgment, news outlets reported Thursday that federal authorities wiretapped Cohen’s phone weeks ahead of an April 9 raid of Cohen’s office and residences. At least one call that was tapped was reportedly made to the White House.
Sanders suggested at the briefing that Trump was being truthful when he told reporters on Air Force One on April 5, “No, I don’t know” who provided the money to pay Daniels.
“As Mayor Giuliani stated, this wasn’t something that was initially known but later learned,” Sanders said.
Sanders said she personally learned Wednesday evening that Trump reimbursed Cohen, when Giuliani said so on TV.
Hours before the briefing, Trump wrote on Twitter that Cohen “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” with Daniels.
