Trump discloses his reimbursement to lawyer for settlement with porn star Stormy Daniels

President Trump formally disclosed Wednesday that he paid his attorney as much as $250,000 as reimbursements for expenses — which included a $130,000 payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels, who says she had a sexual encounter with him.

The disclosure came in his annual financial disclosure report to the Office of Government Ethics. 

Trump said he was listing the reimbursements to Michael Cohen — first made public by lawyer Rudy Giuliani two weeks ago — "in the interest of transparency," even though he said he was not required to disclose them.

But ethics officials said in a note on his form that they have concluded otherwise. "The information related to the payment made by Mr. Cohen is required to be reported," the officials said. "The information provided meets the disclosure requirement for a reportable liability."

The report also provides insight into the president’s still-vast real estate empire, which Trump continues to own while the day-to-day management is handled by family.

The report showed large fluctuations in the income Trump collected from several of his marquee properties, including what he has described as the “Winter White House” in Palm Beach, Fla.

The Mar-a-Lago resort, where the president frequently escapes for winter weekends, collected more than $25 million last year, down from $37 million the year before.

Trump’s income from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, which has come under scrutiny for being a top choice for foreign dignitaries, nearly doubled, from about $20 million in 2016 to just over $40 million last year.

That increase is likely due in part to the fact that the hotel did not open until the fall of 2016.