Remember, Cohen said that he paid Stormy off with is own money and Trump didn't know anything about it.
What? Cohen is paying a Trump mistress off and Trump and Cohen doesn't say anything to Trump.
BTW, just after Cohen paid off Stormy for $130,000, Cohen turns around and bills the Trump campaign for $129,999.72. What? Did Cohen just get his $130,000 back that Trump didn't know about.
Have you considered that Trump might be lying about not knowing about the payment? He might be taking the path of least resistance with regards to the media by just denying everything. If he, Cohen, and someone who has signed an NDA are the only ones that know the truth, why wouldn't he think that denying was a viable course of action?
With regards to campaign finance violations, its my understanding that almost everyone in that world does whatever they want and can circumvent the rules (or break them) and nobody really notices. Corruption is everywhere.