Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, shot back at President Trump’s lawyer Friday, hinting that Cohen’s secret recording of Trump discussing a payment to a former Playboy model will be more damaging to the president than his former longtime fixer.
Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani told the New York Times that the recording lasts less than two minutes and “nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance.”
Davis said Giuliani’s response won’t change what is heard on the tape.
“Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that. But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt @MichaelCohen212. Any attempt at spin can not change what is on the tape,” Davis tweeted Friday night.
[Opinion: How many tapes of Trump did Michael Cohen have?]
Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that. But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt @MichaelCohen212. Any attempt at spin can not change what is on the tape.
— Lanny Davis (@LannyDavis) July 20, 2018
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal was paid $150,000 for her story alleging she had an affair with Trump in 2006 by the publisher of the National Enquirer. The publisher never ran the story, and McDougal could not legally discuss it with anyone else after accepting the payment.
Giuliani explained to the Times that Trump instructed his former lawyer to pay McDougal with a check instead of cash so that it could be properly documented.
The FBI seized the recording earlier this year during a raid on Cohen’s office. The Justice Department is investigation Cohen’s involvement in payments to women alleging they had affairs with Trump in the lead up to the 2016 election. Such payments could have violated campaign finance laws.
