On November 4, 2016 allegations of an affair between president Trump and adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels (her real name being Stephanie Clifford) came to light. Since then, there have been repeat changes in narrative about the affair, about settlement payments, and more. However, one of the largest scandals within these allegations is the “hush money” payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels and the Non Discloser Agreement (NDA) between her and President Donald Trump.

Throughout the last couple of months, the White House and the president himself have made several statements saying that the President was not involved in the payment, but rather it was the doing of his lawyer Michael Cohen. Along with the payment, according to Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Cohen also sent a two-paragraph statement by email addressed ‘To whom it may concern’ and signed by ‘Stormy Daniels’ denying that she had a "sexual and/or romantic affair" with Mr. Trump”. At this point in time, it appeared that the allegations of an affair were false. However, this was until Stormy Daniels retracted her statement saying that she felt forced to sign the denial (John Kruzel from politifact).

On February 13, 2018, it was claimed by Michael Cohen that the $130,000 was paid to Stormy Daniels out of his pocket in return for her silence. "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly" commented in the New York Times. The president corroborated this statement when asked if he knew anything about the payment to Stormy Daniels. Mr. Trump responded with a simple “no” while aboard Air Force One during a press gaggle. However, the President’s new lawyer has said contradictory statements.

Recently, Rudy Giuliani has been appointed as the new personal lawyer for Donald Trump, and he has an entirely new story about the settlement. Giuliani claims that Donald Trump repaid Michael Cohen the $130,000 insinuating that the President was informed of the payment despite having recently announced he was incognizant about the matter (CBS News). Giuliani upended the news as he continued to spread his statement on “Fox News” and “Fox and Friends” causing an uproar from other news outlets such as “CNN”, “CBS”, and “The Washington Post”. In response, Donald Trump tweeted that "Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer” (John Kruzel). He also rejected remarks that the NDA was put in place in order to keep Ms. Daniels quiet about an affair. “The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by [Stormy Daniels] about an affair”, commented the President (John Kruzel).

First, Michael Cohen stated he paid Stormy Daniels with his own money. Then, Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggests that there was “no knowledge of any payments from the president” (Margaret Hartmann NYMag) which was supported by Donald Trump on Air Force One. This statement was further supported when Michael Cohen reiterated that Mr. Trump never paid him back for the settlement. However, on May 2nd it was revealed by the president’s own lawyer that Mr. Trump did have knowledge of the payment. Not only that, but Donald Trump did indeed pay back Michael Cohen. With all the contradictory statements, it is difficult to tell what is the truth. One thing is for certain; the Trump team sure cannot seem to get their story straight.