President alludes to tape, says he did nothing wrong

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump, weighing in on reports that Michael Cohen secretly recorded a conversation with him in 2016, tweeted yesterday that a lawyer taping a client is perhaps illegal but, never mind, ‘‘your favorite President’’ did nothing wrong.

Trump’s tweet followed a report that Cohen, his onetime lawyer and fixer, secretly recorded a conversation in which he and Trump discussed payments to a former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

The development was first reported by The New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal reported subsequently that the conversation took place in person.

The person, who has reviewed the transcript of the contact but who is not authorised to comment publicly, said the recording was made about two months before the 2016 election and was among the materials seized during an April FBI raid on Cohen’s office, home and hotel room.

Trump’s tweets lashed out at both points.

‘‘Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) — almost unheard of,’’ he tweeted. ‘‘Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client — totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!’’ — TCA