Donald Trump repaid attorney who paid off porn star Stormy Daniels

The disclosure, signed by Trump and released by the US Office of Government Ethics, did not describe the purpose or the recipient of the original 2016 payment to a "third party" made by Cohen, for which he was reimbursed by Trump.

But Cohen has acknowledged paying Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in a transaction meant to buy her silence about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter between her and Trump. Rudy Giuliani, who recently became the Republican president's new personal attorney, has said Trump reimbursed Cohen for the original, $130,000 payment, which was made shortly before Trump's victory in the Nov. 8, 2016 presidential election.

The ethics disclosure draws a clearer connection between Trump and Cohen and further underlines inconsistencies in descriptions provided by Trump and aides about the payments.

Trump had previously disputed whether he was aware of the payment by Cohen and whether he reimbursed his attorney. In April, Trump told reporters he did not know anything about the payment. His disclosure now suggests Trump repaid Cohen last year.

Trump, his campaign and Cohen have all denied any wrongdoing. The acting director of the ethics office, David Apol, said in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that the original payment made by Cohen should have been disclosed in ethics documents that Trump filed in June 2017. Apol's letter was released with the Trump disclosures.

The payment has been central to complaints filed by watchdog groups alleging that Trump, his campaign and Cohen violated campaign finance laws when Daniels was paid shortly before the election and then further broke the law when the payment was not disclosed in previous filings.