Giuliani revealed to Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday that Trump had, in fact, repaid his longtime attorney Michael Cohen for for the hush-money payment to Daniels. Cohen had previously denied any reimbursement, and Trump had denied even knowing about the payment.
Giuliani then told "Fox and Friends" on Thursday that Cohen's payment to Daniels was linked to Trump's candidacy, raising questions about of campaign-finance violations. Experts have said such a payment could be considered an in-kind political contribution, violating the $2,700 limit an individual can give.
"Imagine if that came out on October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton," Giuliani said. "Cohen didn't even ask. Cohen made it go away. He didn't even ask."
But in his new statement on Friday, Giuliani walked back the remarks, saying the payment was unrelated to Trump's 2016 campaign.
"There is no campaign violation. The payment was made to resolve a personal and false allegation in order to protect the President's family," Giuliani's statement read. "It would have been done in any event, whether he was a candidate or not."
Giuliani's statement also went on to attribute his recent remarks to his own "understanding" of the events and not information he had received directly from Trump.
"My references to timing were not describing my understanding of the President's knowledge, but instead, my understanding of these matters," Giuliani's statement said.
The statement was released just hours after Trump seemed to undercut Giuliani, telling reporters that Giuliani would "get his facts straight."
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