A 2018 video of Donald Trump denying the alleged hush payments made during the 2016 election campaign has surfaced.
On Tuesday, the former president pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made in three instances in the run up to the 2016 presidential election, including to adult film actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair.
In the video from 2018, the then-president can be seen talking to reporters on Air Force One.
Mr Trump, when questioned about the $130,000 hush payment made by his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to Ms Daniels, denies the allegations.
A reporter can be heard asking Mr Trump if he knew about the payment to Ms Daniels to which Mr Trump replies: “No.”
He was then asked why Mr Cohen paid her if the allegations weren’t true.
“You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael’s my attorney. You’ll have to ask Michael,” Mr Trump responded.
When asked further if he knew where the $130,000 came from, he said: “No, I don’t know.”
Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts against him before Judge Juan Merchan shortly after 2.40pm on Tuesday.
In 2018,The Wall Street Journal reported on the payment made for the first time by Cohen to Ms Daniels.
On 14 January 2018, Cohen admitted to the payment before denying that the affair itself occurred.
On 16 January that same year, CNN reported that Fox News had buried the story about hush payments made to Ms Daniels.
A day later, a 2011 interview with InTouch Weekly in which Ms Daniels herself repeated the same allegations was revealed by the magazine.
After pleading not guilty, Mr Trump has become the first current or former US president ever to be charged with a crime.
