Secret recording of Cohen-Trump conversation revealed
Washington, July 25 : A secret audio recording of then-US presidential candidate Donald Trump with his recently estranged lawyer Michael Cohen speaking in 2016 about making a payment to Playboy playmate Karen McDougal has been obtained by CNN.
In the tape obtained by the channel network on Tuesday both Trump and Cohen discuss a transfer of money to a company for "info regarding our friend David" -- an apparent reference to David Pecker, the CEO of American Media Inc. which owns the National Enquirer.
The audio, made in September of 2016, is the first evidence that Trump knew about the payment.
"I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David," Cohen said in the recording. Trump interrupts Cohen asking: "What financing?"
Cohen then tells Trump, "We'll have to pay" and Trump is heard saying "pay with cash". Cohen is heard saying "no no no".
American Media, Inc. allegedly spent $150,000 in August of 2016 for a story from Karen McDougal, the playmate who claimed she had a 10-month affair with Trump.
But the expose never ran.
McDougal's sued the company earlier in 2018 for the rights to tell her story.
Her lawyers claimed that the purchase was part of a "catch-and-kill" strategy to bury her tale and protect then-candidate Trump from negative press.
The lawsuit was eventually settled and freed McDougal from the contract which she claimed she was "misled into signing". Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, however, has refuted all payment claims, the New York Post reported.
Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis, who provided the audio tapes to the network, said it showed his client knows the truth about Trump. "This is about honesty versus false disparagement of Michael Cohen," Davis told CNN.
"Why is Giuliani out falsely disparaging Michael Cohen -- because they fear him… They fear that he has the truth about Donald Trump.
"The truth is that when Donald Trump said ‘cash' which Rudy Giuliani knows that only drug dealers and mobsters talk about cash, it was, you heard Michael Cohen… say what? ‘No, no, no, no'."
The tapes were among others seized by federal authorities in a raid of Cohen's home and office.
CNN presenter Chris Cuomo tweeted on Tuesday: "Full audio: Presidential candidate 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 "https://cnn.it/2v5Xe1E".
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'I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus': Raghav Chadha rubbishes AAP's allegations
New Delhi (PTI): "I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus," said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday as he rejected allegations levelled against him by the Aam Aadmi Party, calling them "false" and part of a "coordinated campaign".
In a video, Chadha dismissed claims that he did not join opposition walkouts, terming the charge a "blatant lie".
He challenged his detractors to cite even a single instance where he failed to participate and said parliamentary proceedings are recorded through CCTV cameras.
Refuting another allegation that he refused to sign a motion related to the Chief Election Commissioner, Chadha said no party leader had asked him, either formally or informally, to sign it. He added that several other MPs from his party had also not signed the motion.
The MP said his focus in Parliament has been on raising public issues such as GST, income tax, air pollution in Delhi, water concerns in Punjab, public healthcare, education, railway passenger issues, menstrual health, unemployment and inflation.
Chadha said that he goes to Parliament to "create impact not ruckus" as it runs on taxpayers' money and it is his responsibility to highlight their concerns. "Every lie will be exposed," he said.
