Trump tape a turning point in legal game of cat-and-mouse
At least a dozen more recordings were seized from Cohen’s office
JONATHAN LEMIRE AND ZEKE MILLER
WASHINGTON— The sudden public airing of Donald Trump talking about paying for a Playboy model’s silence marks a turning point in the legal game of catand-mouse between the president and the lawyer who once promised to take a bullet for him but now seems out to save himself. The feud between Trump and his one-time legal “fixer,” Michael Cohen, escalated Wednesday when an audio recording of their 2016 pre-election conversation was released by Cohen.
As the two sides battled over the exact meaning of the sometimes-garbled words on the recording, it was clear that the tape could be just an opening volley. At least a dozen more recordings were seized from Cohen’s office as well as hundreds of thousands of documents. The tape, made just weeks before the 2016 election, appears to undermine Trump’s contention that he was not aware of a payment to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, who has alleged she had an affair with the married future president. Cohen says on the tape he’s already spoken with the Trump Organization’s finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, on “how to set the whole thing up.” Weisselberg’s involvement raises questions about whether Trump’s private business tried to protect his campaign. Trump’s lawyers say the payments were never made. The tape’s revelations also mark a new chapter for Cohen who, as he mulls co-operating with federal prosecutors and perhaps special counsel Robert Mueller, is viewed by many in Trump’s orbit as the greatest threat to the former businessman’s presidency.
Days before the recording, American Media Inc., which owns the National Enquirer, paid $150,000 to McDougal for the rights to her story about the alleged 2006 affair. She later sued, claiming that AMI paid for the story with the intention of burying it to protect Trump. AMI president David Pecker is a close friend of the president.
Cohen is heard on the tape discussing AMI’s payment, and says of “David” that “I’ll have to pay him something.”
The audio is muffled but Trump can be heard saying something about “cash,” and then something about paying by check. Trump’s current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani insists Trump says, “Don’t pay with cash.” But Davis, Cohen’s attorney, maintains that Trump’s reference to “cash” is damaging. “The only people who use cash are drug dealers and mobsters,” he told CNN.