Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Trump before the 2016 presidential election in which they discussed payments to a woman, the New York Times reported on Friday.
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The newspaper, citing lawyers and others familiar with the recording, said the FBI seized the recording this year during a raid on Cohen’s office.
Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violations linked to a $130,000 payment to woman and other matters related to Trump’s campaign, a person familiar with the investigation has told Reuters.
The FBI seized documents and files as part of that investigation, which stemmed in part from a referral by the U.S. special counsel’s office, which is looking into possible coordination during the 2016 election campaign between Trump’s aides and Russia.
The existence of a recording raises further questions about the tactics Trump used to keep his personal and business life secret while he was seeking public office.
Representatives for Cohen and Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Giuliani told the Times that Trump had discussed the payments with Cohen on the tape but that the payments were ultimately never made. He said the recording was less than two minutes and demonstrated the president had done nothing wrong.
The woman sold her story to The National Enquirer for $150,000 during the final months of the presidential campaign but the tabloid sat on the story, preventing it from becoming public, the Times said.
Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, declined to comment on the tapes, the newspaper said.
The newspaper, citing three people briefed on the matter, said Cohen’s lawyers discovered the recording during their review of the seized materials and shared it with Trump’s lawyers.
That’s completely impossible. Trump has stated that he knew nothing about the payments to that woman to silence her about something that never happened. The deep state must have forged that tape cast aspersions on Mr. Trumps morality.
this is illegal what he did, how can anything he said be believed if he violated the law?
Big deal. An issue over a tissue.
Fake news gave up on Russia so now its stormy
Polls show Americans couldn’t care less about any of this. The only thing they do care about is the economy and security. Trump is delivering both beyond belief.
Trumpfoid shill Hope Hicks lied and denied Trumpf paid this porno star off. Now Crazy Ol’ Uncle Guiliani says he did. WOW. Either this porno payoff or the Toxic Traitor’s Helsinki lies will bring him down. His supporters are running away from him. LOL. He’s burnt toast.. FeH.
All in all, anyone doing business with President Trump ought to record what he says. He has a history of litigation and simply not paying his bills.