President Donald Trump should have reported a payment from his attorney Michael Cohen to porn actress Stormy Daniels in his 2017 public financial disclosure, the director of the government’s ethics office said.
The Office of Government Ethics “has concluded that, based on the information provided as a note to part 8, the payment made to Mr. Cohen is required to be reported as a liability," the agency’s acting director David Apol said in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani disclosed recently that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. The money was intended to keep her from discussing an alleged extramarital affair with Trump prior to the 2016 election. Trump has denied any relationship with Daniels.
Apol’s agency released Trump’s 2018 disclosure on Wednesday. Under ethics rules, officials report the value of their assets and the amount of their income in broad ranges.
In last year’s disclosure, Trump reported making at least $528.9 million -- a number that appears to mix total revenue from his businesses with income -- from January 2016 through April 15, 2017.
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