WASHINGTON: The audio recording of President Donald Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, captures the 2 males discussing hush cash bills to a former Playboy fashion alleging an affair.
Here's a have a look at the recording , including what it unearths and what it doesn't:
IT'S QUICK AND CASUAL AND RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN
Trump's legal professionals say the three-minute recording was once made surreptitiously by Cohen throughout what seems to be an off-the-cuff, campaign-related conversation with Trump in September 2016, simply two months clear of the nationwide election.
At the start of the audio, the president appears to be chatting with someone other than Cohen whom he calls "hon" and references a "Charleston thing," concluding, "I'm proud of you."
Trump then turns his attention to Cohen, his longtime good friend and attorney. The two talk about polling numbers and the affect of a supportive African-American pastor. Cohen tells Trump that The New York Times needs to u.s. documents on his divorce from Ivana Trump forward of the election (an effort that was once ultimately unsuccessful, as Cohen predicts).
At one level throughout the Ivana dialogue, Trump yells out, "Get me a Coke, please!"
This chatter is noteworthy as it shows Cohen advising Trump on campaign matters. And that could be of hobby to investigators taking a look into whether or not Cohen violated election regulations by orchestrating hush cash payouts.
IT REFERS TO 'OUR FRIEND, DAVID'
Cohen then shifts the conversation. "Um," he says, "I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David."
This is widely believed to seek advice from David Pecker, president of American Media Inc., which owns the National Enquirer. The company had simply paid $150,000 to fashion Karen McDougal for the rights to her tale about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
McDougal later sued, claiming that AMI paid for the tale with the goal of burying it to protect Trump.
Cohen says he's already spoken with the Trump Organization's finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, on "how to set the whole thing up." Trump's legal professionals say the bills were never made.
Weisselberg's involvement raises questions about whether or not Trump's non-public trade attempted to protect his campaign.
Such a payment might be thought to be an illegal campaign expenditure if the cash is obviously meant to persuade the end result of the approaching presidential election. But it could be a harder case to make if the payment was once observed as simply designed to protect Trump, who is married, from embarrassment in his non-public or non-public life.
IT SHOWS TRUMP KNEW
Trump responds to Cohen's suggestion with a query: "What do we got to pay for this?"
This observation makes it transparent Trump is accustomed to the matter and now not finding out for the first time of McDougal's allegation or the proposal to prepare a payment.
The tape doesn't prove McDougal's allegations of an affair, and at no level within the recording does Trump recognize whether or not he had a sexual courting with McDougal. But the audio does recommend Trump knew about her allegations, even as his campaign later insisted that he did not.
Just days forward of the presidential election, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks informed The Wall Street Journal on its document of the $150,000 payment to McDougal: "We have no knowledge of any of this."
CASH OR CHECK?
At one level, Cohen says of David, "I'll have to pay him something."
The audio is muffled but Trump can be heard saying something about "cash," and then something about paying by "check."
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, insists Trump stated, "Don't pay with cash."
This is simplest essential in that it raises questions about whether or not Trump was once seeking to cover the potential payment with cash, which can be harder to track.
Also unclear is why the audio ends so all of a sudden. Trump on Wednesday prompt the tape was once lower simply as he was once "presumably saying positive things," even though there was once no proof of that.
IT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT COHEN'S END GAME
The recording became up after federal agents raided Cohen's administrative center, house and resort room this spring as a part of an investigation into conceivable fraud and violation of election regulations. Court filings say 12 audio recordings in all were handed on to federal prosecutors after legal professionals dropped any claims of attorney-client privilege.
One query is why Cohen chose to make it public. Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, released the recording to CNN Tuesday night time in what's observed as an open hostility between Trump and Cohen.
Asked if Cohen was once nonetheless in the hunt for a presidential pardon while beneath federal investigation, Davis answered simply, "No."
"This is about truth versus lying and ultimately Trump is going to be done in by the truth."
Here's a have a look at the recording , including what it unearths and what it doesn't:
IT'S QUICK AND CASUAL AND RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN
Trump's legal professionals say the three-minute recording was once made surreptitiously by Cohen throughout what seems to be an off-the-cuff, campaign-related conversation with Trump in September 2016, simply two months clear of the nationwide election.
At the start of the audio, the president appears to be chatting with someone other than Cohen whom he calls "hon" and references a "Charleston thing," concluding, "I'm proud of you."
Trump then turns his attention to Cohen, his longtime good friend and attorney. The two talk about polling numbers and the affect of a supportive African-American pastor. Cohen tells Trump that The New York Times needs to u.s. documents on his divorce from Ivana Trump forward of the election (an effort that was once ultimately unsuccessful, as Cohen predicts).
At one level throughout the Ivana dialogue, Trump yells out, "Get me a Coke, please!"
This chatter is noteworthy as it shows Cohen advising Trump on campaign matters. And that could be of hobby to investigators taking a look into whether or not Cohen violated election regulations by orchestrating hush cash payouts.
IT REFERS TO 'OUR FRIEND, DAVID'
Cohen then shifts the conversation. "Um," he says, "I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David."
This is widely believed to seek advice from David Pecker, president of American Media Inc., which owns the National Enquirer. The company had simply paid $150,000 to fashion Karen McDougal for the rights to her tale about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
McDougal later sued, claiming that AMI paid for the tale with the goal of burying it to protect Trump.
Cohen says he's already spoken with the Trump Organization's finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, on "how to set the whole thing up." Trump's legal professionals say the bills were never made.
Weisselberg's involvement raises questions about whether or not Trump's non-public trade attempted to protect his campaign.
Such a payment might be thought to be an illegal campaign expenditure if the cash is obviously meant to persuade the end result of the approaching presidential election. But it could be a harder case to make if the payment was once observed as simply designed to protect Trump, who is married, from embarrassment in his non-public or non-public life.
IT SHOWS TRUMP KNEW
Trump responds to Cohen's suggestion with a query: "What do we got to pay for this?"
This observation makes it transparent Trump is accustomed to the matter and now not finding out for the first time of McDougal's allegation or the proposal to prepare a payment.
The tape doesn't prove McDougal's allegations of an affair, and at no level within the recording does Trump recognize whether or not he had a sexual courting with McDougal. But the audio does recommend Trump knew about her allegations, even as his campaign later insisted that he did not.
Just days forward of the presidential election, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks informed The Wall Street Journal on its document of the $150,000 payment to McDougal: "We have no knowledge of any of this."
CASH OR CHECK?
At one level, Cohen says of David, "I'll have to pay him something."
The audio is muffled but Trump can be heard saying something about "cash," and then something about paying by "check."
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, insists Trump stated, "Don't pay with cash."
This is simplest essential in that it raises questions about whether or not Trump was once seeking to cover the potential payment with cash, which can be harder to track.
Also unclear is why the audio ends so all of a sudden. Trump on Wednesday prompt the tape was once lower simply as he was once "presumably saying positive things," even though there was once no proof of that.
IT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT COHEN'S END GAME
The recording became up after federal agents raided Cohen's administrative center, house and resort room this spring as a part of an investigation into conceivable fraud and violation of election regulations. Court filings say 12 audio recordings in all were handed on to federal prosecutors after legal professionals dropped any claims of attorney-client privilege.
One query is why Cohen chose to make it public. Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, released the recording to CNN Tuesday night time in what's observed as an open hostility between Trump and Cohen.
Asked if Cohen was once nonetheless in the hunt for a presidential pardon while beneath federal investigation, Davis answered simply, "No."
"This is about truth versus lying and ultimately Trump is going to be done in by the truth."
'Get me a Coke!' What's in the Trump-Cohen audio, what's not
!['Get me a Coke!' What's in the Trump-Cohen audio, what's not]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
July 26, 2018
Rating:
