Trump used a Secret Service agent’s phone to call Melania after Stormy Daniels allegations broke, report says

Revelations come amid ongoing 6 January investigation

Donald Trump allegedly used a Secret Service agent’s phone to call his wife Melania Trump following news of Stormy Daniels’s suing him in 2018, a report says.

The then-president was said to have been golfing when he heard news of the allegations against him in March 2018 when he wanted to reach his wife.

According to a source who spoke with CNN on Sunday, Mr Trump was forced to use an agent’s phone to reach Ms Trump because she would not answer his call.

Mr Trump, who has rebuked claims of an affair with the adult film star before becoming president, allegedly annoyed the Secret Service agent whose phone was used.

No further details were released about the phone call or the 2018 incident, which comes amid revelations that Mr Trump frequently used mobile phones belonging to his Secret Service agents or aides to keep his conversations private.

It was reported that White House phones are often taken from desks – which a Trump administration source told CNN meant it was difficult to avoid being overheard.

A call log from January 6 was meanwhile allegedly missing details from around the time of the Capitol riot.

The revelations comes after records from the Trump administration were released by the National Archive at the request of the bipartisan House committee looking into the riot.

Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, announced she was suing the then-pesident in March 2018 after she was allegedly paid to keep an affair secret.

Although Mr Trump denies the allegations, his former attorney Michael Cohen was sent to prison following an FBI investigation into payments made to Ms Clifford and another woman. His home imprisonment ended in November.

It was first revealed in January 2018 that Ms Clifford was paid $130,000 (£96,000) not to disclose allegations of an affair with Mr Trump a year after he married his wife in 2005. Mr Trump also denied asking Mr Cohen to do so.

Michael Avenatti, a well known lawyer, was recently found guilty of stealing $300,000 (£221,000) from Ms Clifford following a book deal about her claims against Mr Trump.

A Texas federal judge in October 2018 ruled against Ms Clifford’s defamation lawsuit against the former president.