*WASHINGTON : *President Donald Trump said Thursday that his longtimelawyer, Michael Cohen, was reimbursedlink>througha monthly retainer for the $130,000 payment made to porn actress StormyDanielslink>tostop what Trump called “false and extortionist accusations” about adecade-old affair.

In an extraordinary series of morning tweets, the president confirmed thatCohenlink>enteredinto a non-disclosure agreement with Daniels, which Trump called “verycommon among celebrities and people of wealth.”

Trump stressed that no campaign funds were used to reimburse Cohen, callingit a “private agreement.”

“Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in thistransaction,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s explanation on Twitter came the morning after Rudolph W. Giuliani,the former New York mayor and recent addition to Trump’s legal team,acknowledged for the first time that Trump had repaid Cohen – despiteTrump’s assertion last month that he was unaware of the payment. Giulianimade the comments on the Fox News Channel.

In his tweets Thursday morning, Trump was silent on whether he knew aboutthe payment scheme to Cohen as it was happening.