Rudy Giuliani Issues Statement to Clarify Cohen Comments

Giuliani, now on President Donald Trump's legal team, issued the statement in the wake of comments he made Wednesday and Thursday on Fox News — and after the president told reporters Friday that he had misspoken about Cohen's reimbursement.

Here is Giuliani's statement:

"This is intended to clarify the views I expressed over the past few days.

"These are my views:

"First: There is no campaign violation. The payment was made to resolve a personal and false allegation in order to protect the president's family. It would have been done in any event, whether he was a candidate or not.

"Second: My references to timing were not describing my understanding of the president's knowledge, but instead, my understanding of these matters.

"Third: It is undisputed that the president's dismissal of former [FBI] Director Comey, an inferior executive officer, was clearly within his

Article Il power [outlined in the U.S. Constitution].

"Recent revelations about former Director Comey further confirm the wisdom of the President's decision, which was plainly in the best interests of our nation."

Trump told reporters Friday that Giuliani would "get his facts straight" about the statements he made Wednesday to Sean Hannity and on Thursday on "Fox & Friends" regarding the payments.

The president insisted that Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, had misspoken about the Cohen reimbursement — and Trump insisted that he was not changing his story on the $130,000 payment to Daniels weeks before the 2016 election.

In his Fox interviews, Giuliani said Trump knew about the payment and had reimbursed Cohen for the payment through monthly retainers.

President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in March that he knew nothing about the Daniels payment.

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