Michael Cohen reportedly balked at paying off Stormy Daniels until the 'Access Hollywood' tape was released and that could cut through his and Trump's defense

Get the Full StoryRichard Drew AP

President Donald Trump's former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen reportedly balked at the idea of paying off porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in October 2016.

That could hurt his argument that the payment was made to prevent Trump's family from embarrassment and not to assist his presidential campaign.

President Donald Trump's former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen reportedly balked at the idea of paying off porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in October 2016 — and that could cut through Cohen and Trump's central argument for how that payment did not constitute a campaign-finance violation.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Cohen initially didn't see a reason to make the payment to Daniels, who alleges she had a 2006 affair with the president, an allegation Trump denies. But after the "Access Hollywood" tape, where Trump boasts of being able to grab women by the genitals without consequence, was made public, Cohen changed his mind.See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: Meet the woman behind Trump's 20 million merch empireSee Also:A retired federal judge ruled that roughly 0.1 of all the Michael Cohen documents are privilegedTrump blasts the media in response to the hundreds of editorials decrying his attacks on the pressTrump made clear his decision to review and revoke security clearances has everything to do with the Russia investigationSEE ALSO: Rudy Giuliani reveals how Trump's legal team plans to fight a Mueller subpoena all the way up to the Supreme Court

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