Trump blasts Cohen over tape disclosure
Washington, July 25 : US President Donald Trump blasted his former attorney Michael Cohen on Wednesday after a secret audio of a recording between the two about making a payment to Playboy playmate Karen McDougal was aired.
In the 2016 conversion aired on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" on Tuesday, Trump, then-US presidential candidate, and Cohen could be heard discussing how they would buy the rights to McDougal's story about an alleged affair she had with the leader years earlier.
Trump denies the affair and took to Twitter in the morning slamming Cohen. "What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before? Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things?
"I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped - can this be so? Too bad!" Trump tweeted.
Court filings said federal prosecutors have 12 recordings from Cohen and according to CNN, the recording with Trump was among those 12.
The tape's release made a further dent in the relationship between the President and Cohen, who was the former's previous steadfast supporter, personal attorney and long time confidant.
Cohen is under criminal investigation by the US attorney's office in Manhattan for his personal financial dealings, including the payment he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf before the election.
However, he has not been charged with any wrongdoing in Daniels case.
In the audio, Trump and Cohen discussed other matters, including an attempt by the New York Times to unseal the records from the President's first divorce and mentioning pastor Mark Burns, a Trump supporter.
Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis provided CNN the September 2016 recording and said Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani had been "falsely disparaging" Cohen.
Giuliani contended that the recording would not harm Trump after news came last week that the recording of Trump and Cohen was among those obtained by prosecutors.
trump, however, expressed anger over the recording last weekend on Twitter, calling both the seizure of the recording and Cohen's creation of it "inconceivable".
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Fan tries to die by suicide over Nikhil Kumaraswamy's bypoll loss
Bengaluru: Channapatna JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who lost the byelection to C.P. Yogeshwar of Congress, on Sunday consoled a fan who reportedly attempted to end his life and requested him not to repeat such acts.
Manjunath, fondly called Abhi, had even penned a letter before taking the dangerous step. Nikhil, who called on Manjunath at the latter’s home in Kudloor in Channapatna, expressed shock and sadness over the incident.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy reassured Manjunath, expressing his support during the difficult time. He told him that he was deeply troubled to learn of this incident and emphasised that he would stand by him. Nikhil also promised to offer assistance in any way he could, including helping him secure employment opportunities in the future, as reported by the Deccan Herald.
He also reminded Manjunath of the importance of his children’s well-being, urging him to focus on their future. “Please, look at the faces of your growing children. Even I have a three-year-old son. The children are young, let us take care of their future also. I will arrange some job opportunities for you. I might not be an MLA but this is a challenge. I will get you employed,” he said.
Nikhil told media persons that he is extremely hurt more by Manjunath’s attempt to die than by his loss in the election. “At 7:30 a.m., we got a message that in Valetoopu, Manjunath had consumed poison yesterday. In Channapatna, our workers and leaders have built this party with zeal. Let the admiration be there in your hearts but if it crosses the line, your families get hurt and we get very pained by it,” he was quoted as saying by the publication.
Speaking of his byelection loss, Nikhil reiterated that the JD(S) had got its traditional votes, but that the votes of a particular community went against the party.
“Deve Gowda gave reservation to a community. We tried our last attempt to take that community into confidence. But they conveyed to us that they do not require us. In future, we will take other communities into confidence,” he remarked in a veiled reference to Muslims.
Nikhil lost the election by a margin of 25,413 votes to Congress candidate C.P. Yogeshwar.
