President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen recorded a conversation with a CNN reporter, saying he arranged "on my own" a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing unnamed sources, the news outlet reported Cohen had a two-hour talk with CNN's Chris Cuomo — which Cohen apparently secretly recorded — and discussed the October 2016 payment to the adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
"I did it on my own," Cohen said, according to the Journal.
During the conversation, Cohen assured Cuomo he was not running a tape, the Journal reported — telling the reporter he was putting the phone on his desk and the conversation was off the record. The phone apparently recorded the whole conversation, the Journal reported.
The claims of personal responsibility echoed Cohen's public comments after it was revealed earlier this year he "facilitated" the hush-money with his own funds, calling it a "private transaction."
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, later disclosed the president reimbursed Cohen through a monthly retainer, but had not learned of the deal with the porn actress until later.
The Journal noted the recording is one of a dozen tapes Cohen kept of conversations referring to matters related to Trump that federal investigators seized in an April raid. Cohen has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes.
A former federal judge overseeing a review of materials seized in the raid released the 12 audio recordings to federal investigators Monday. The recording of Cuomo was among them, the Journal reported, adding Cohen recorded his conversations with multiple reporters.
Cuomo aired a recording Tuesday night that Cohen secretly taped of a September 2016 conversation he had with Trump in which they discussed buying another woman's story of an alleged affair.
In the tape, Cohen suggested to Trump they buy the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story, which had been bought by the publisher of the National Enquirer a month earlier.
Trump has denied having sex with either woman.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.