Then-presidential candidate Trump can be heard on tape discussing with his attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story about an alleged affair they had a year earlier.
The audio tape, which was made in September 2016, was provided to CNN by Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis, and the contents of the tape aired on the network Tuesday.
The tape reveals that President Trump was aware of the idea for American Media to buy the rights to McDougal’s story so it would never come to light.
[Opinion: How many tapes of Trump did Michael Cohen have?]
“I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David,” Cohen can be heard saying in the recording, most likely referencing American Media head David Pecker.
“What financing?” Trump said, according to the recording.
When Cohen tells Trump, “We’ll have to pay,” Trump is heard saying, “Pay with cash.”
However, due to the quality of the tape and the muddled audio, it is unclear whether Trump tells Cohen to pay with cash, or not pay with cash.
Cohen can be heard saying, “No, no, no,” after Trump’s suggestion.
According to Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, no payment was made from Trump to McDougal.
Federal prosecutors have obtained 12 audio recordings, according to court filings. The tapes were obtained during the FBI raid on Cohen’s office earlier this year.
America Media paid McDougal $150,000 in August 2016 for the rights to her story about an alleged 10 month extramarital affair with Trump, but the story was never published.
Porn star Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti tweeted shortly after the tapes were aired on CNN, claiming that Cohen was “not innocent” but instead a “co-conspirator dishonest thug.”
“Mr. Davis is a good lawyer but his client Mr. Cohen is not innocent nor is he a victim. He is a co-conspirator dishonest thug who continues to refuse to come clean & do the right thing. They are playing you & aiming for a pardon. Where is the rest of the evidence & tapes? #Basta,” Avenatti tweeted.
[Trump fumes: ‘What type of lawyer would tape a client?’]
Mr. Davis is a good lawyer but his client Mr. Cohen is not innocent nor is he a victim. He is a co-conspirator dishonest thug who continues to refuse to come clean & do the right thing. They are playing you & aiming for a pardon. Where is the rest of the evidence & tapes? #Basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 25, 2018
Daniels alleges she had an extramarital affair with Trump and was paid off by Cohen ahead of the 2016 elections to keep quiet about her allegations.
