FACT CHECK: Trump’s Misguided Defense Of Cohen Payments

President Donald Trump speaks to the media on Tuesday in Charleston, W.Va., shortly after the guilty plea of his former lawyer Michael Cohen on campaign finance violations, among other charges, and the guilty verdict against former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Alex Brandon / AP

Updated at 12:24 p.m. ET

Fox & Friends was the natural venue for President Trump to strike back against Michael Cohen. The former self-described “fixer” for Trump had said under oath, before a federal judge, that he and Trump had violated the campaign finance law together.

The problem was the hush payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn actress Stormy Daniels. During the campaign, each had taken a six-figure payment that kept their claimed affairs with Trump out of the public eye.