One America News Network retracted an article on Monday that said former President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, had an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The conservative news outlet’s March 27 article cited an X post from a user who falsely claimed to have obtained information in 2018 from Daniels’ then-attorney, Michael Avenatti. Citing Avenatti, the post claimed that Cohen and Daniels had been having an affair since 2006 and that Cohen “invented” the hush money scheme to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election.
“To be clear, no evidence suggests that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels were having an affair and no evidence suggests that Mr. Cohen ‘invented’ the scheme to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election,” said the OAN in a statement. declaration Monday.
The network said it was removing the story “from all websites” as well as “all social media.”
“This retraction is part of an agreement reached with Michael Cohen. Mr. Avenatti has denied making the allegations,” the statement said. “OAN apologizes to Mr. Cohen for any harm the publication may have caused him.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges tied to allegations that he falsified business records related to hush money paid to Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has denied a relationship with Daniels. The trial began this month; Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify.
In a statement on Monday, Cohen criticized the allegations in the retracted story.
“The idea that just before the election I would extort the man I fervently supported and believed was about to become president, all to gain $130,000 that I didn’t even keep for myself, is beyond absurd. It’s just stupid,” Cohen said.
A lawyer for Cohen said the retraction was a “vindication of Michael Cohen.”
“He faced serious consequences for telling the truth. With this action, he has made it clear that those who slander him will face their own consequences,” attorney Danya Perry said in a statement.
Daniels also denied the allegations, OAN said in its statement Monday.
His lawyer separately called the article “reckless.”
“The reckless reporting and publication of such a sensational claim, attempting to disparage two likely witnesses in Trump’s criminal trial, is a testament to OAN’s desperation to serve its true master,” the attorney, Clark Brewster, said in a statement on Monday. “Stormy is currently reviewing its options regarding OAN’s actionable conduct.”
Avenatti, who is serving a prison sentence unrelated to a fraud scheme, previously denied the allegations in the article, calling them “completely fabricated, false and untrue.” He made these observations in a statement through a paralegal, and OAN included them in an April 4 update to the story.
Tony Seruga, author of the post on which the article is based, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
OAN settled a defamation lawsuit out of court with voting machine company Smartmatic, according to a filing this month. Two years ago, the network settled a defamation lawsuit with two Georgia election officials who accused him of falsely claiming they committed voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
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