In fairness, I think this "no my lawyer did it on his own" defence is a ridiculous last minute desperate cobbled-together excuse, so they didn't have that line planned in advance. Because who would plan a defence so absurd? Though of course, it's still idiotic to use a Trump Organisation email address at all.
Several outlets are reporting he complained to friends about not being reimbursed though, so I guess the part about him paying her off was true. Sounds like Cohen joined the long line of lawyers Trump didn't pay lol.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-l...ank-1520273701