Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen just ruined Donald Trump's week by releasing audio of one of the taped conversations he had with Trump to his favorite network, CNN.
Presidential candidate Donald Trump is heard on tape discussing with his attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to a Playboy model's story about an alleged affair Trump had with her years earlier, according to the audio recording of the conversation aired exclusively on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time."
The recording offers the public a glimpse at the confidential discussions between Trump and Cohen, and it confirms the man who now occupies the Oval Office had contemporaneous knowledge of a proposal to buy the rights to the story of Karen McDougal, a woman who has alleged she had an extramarital affair with Trump about a decade ago.
Cohen told Trump about his plans to set up a company and finance the purchase of the rights from American Media, which publishes the National Enquirer. The recording captures what appears to be a routine business conversation of several matters on their agenda. The audio is muddled and the meaning of Trump's use of the word "cash" is disputed by the two sides.
"I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David," Cohen said in the recording, likely a reference to American Media head David Pecker.
When financing comes up again later in the conversation, Trump interrupts Cohen asking, "What financing?" according to the recording. When Cohen tells Trump, "We'll have to pay," Trump is heard saying "pay with cash" but the audio is muddled and it's unclear whether he suggests paying with cash or not paying. Cohen says, "no, no" but it is not clear what is said next.
Aaron Blake at the Washington Post has the transcripts of the tape, and they're pretty eye-opening, particularly the passages CNN reference in the above story.
Here’s where Cohen first broaches what appears to be buying the rights to McDougal’s story – though he doesn’t actually mention her, the National Enquirer or its publisher, American Media Inc. A couple observations:
1) He talks about it as if Trump is already at least somewhat familiar with the whole thing – suggesting they had spoken about it before.
2) He speaks in somewhat coded language – about “info” and “our friend, David.”
3) “David” would seem to refer to David Pecker, the chairman and CEO of AMI who had previously purchased the rights to McDougal’s story. McDougal and former AMI employees have accused Pecker of buying the story so he could decline to run it and protect his friend, Trump – a practice known as “catch and kill.”
4) It’s worth asking precisely what Cohen means by “all of that info.” Neither he nor Trump specifically refers to McDougal, so it’s not clear what info is part of the proposed transaction.
5) Cohen talks about opening up a company for the transaction – which tracks with his approach to the Stormy Daniels hush money.
Then Trump utters "[don't] pay with cash" a bit later when Cohen says "Well, we'll have to pay him something". That "don't" is 100% subjective, because the White House says it's there and the Washington Post says it's not clear. (If you're still believing the White House at this point, there's nothing I can do for you.)
This is the key part of the recording. Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani has contended that the tape is “exculpatory” because it features Trump saying the payment should be made by check and not cash – and therefore suggests Trump wasn’t trying to hide anything. (The rights for the story were never ultimately purchased.)
It’s not clear from the tape, though, whether Trump says “Don’t pay with cash” or something besides “don’t.”
Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis suggested on CNN shortly after the tape went public that Trump’s allusion to paying with cash shows his nefarious motives.
“The only people who use cash are drug dealers and mobsters,” Davis said.
A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Futerfas, told The Post that Trump was talking about “cash” not as in untraceable money, but as an alternative to Cohen’s allusion to “financing” – or a loan.
“The notion that they were discussing using a bag of cash or green currency is ridiculous,” Futerfas said.
Yeah, because Cohen had just mentioned 60 seconds earlier about setting up a front company to handle the payment, but it somehow exonerates Trump because he doesn't want to pay with cash. Trump's state news is too busy attacking Cohen for all this, of course. The "don't" is meaningless compared to Cohen previously saying he's going to set up a shell corporation to hide the payment, guys. This is gaslighting 101.
Side note: I still find it hysterical that Cohen's lawyer is Lanny Davis, who is basically the Michael Cohen of the Democratic party set. They truly deserve each other.
But lordy, there are tapes. Oh, are there ever tapes. And according to Lanny, more releases are coming.
I'd say this won't end well for Trump, but then again it's not like America gave a damn about his tacit admission to serial and criminal sexual assault on the Access Hollywood tape (that was blasted off the front page in under an hour by our Russian WikiLeaks friends and their DNC email leaks).
We'll see.
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