Exclusive: CNN obtains secret Trump-Cohen tape

[Julian Englis]

Last edited Wed Jul 25, 2018, 07:51 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: 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.

"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.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/24/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-tape/index.html

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Link to Cohen Trump audio recording

[rzemanfl]

1. Or David Dennison? n/t

[Jarqui]

16. They should be able to figure that out because they

either have or can get Cohen's phone records..

David Dennison was the fictitious name/alias representing Trump in the NDA with Stormy Daniels.
David J. Pecker is the AMI CEO and publisher of the National Enquirer who buried the Karen McDougal story. That is who the 'David' probably is.

Keith Davidson was Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal's lawyer (just to clear up any possible confusion with Dennison's name).

What they're talking about is setting up a company with Allen Weisselberg, CFO of Trump Org, also past treasurer of the Trump Foundation currently under criminal investigation. Per the audio, the gist behind setting up this company is not to sell a new product or idea - it's to bury a cash transaction - so it smells very bad that they're up to no good.

Since the recording is now in the public domain, attorney-client privilege relative to it is moot.
The only thing left is: do Trump people try to spin it that Mueller's people leaked it .. ? (when in fact, Rachel Maddow already made a pretty good case it was leaked by Trump's lawyers).
That's about the only mystery left for me here.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. No. Really is David Pecker, head of National Enquirer.

(Yes, I see "Pecker, head" )

[joshcryer]

2. Oh my goodness.

Here we go.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. "American Media head David Pecker"... this serious?!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Yes. Really is David Pecker, head of National Enquirer. . . nt

[k8conant]

4. I thought "our friend David" was "David Dennison" of Stormy Daniels' renown...

[rzemanfl]

8. It's Drumpf's nom de pecker so it all sort of fits somehow. n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. No. Really is David Pecker, head of National Enquirer. . . nt

[Freethinker65]

5. Didn't Trump agree to release the tapes, or at least agree to waive privilege?

I do not think the tapes will prove anything not already known. Trump fucked around, bragged about it for years, decided to lie about it during the presidential campaign, and agreed to silence any believable mistresses that he could not slander or threaten that came forward by paying those mistresses off.

[H2O Man]

9. No and yes.

Only Donald Trump could waive privilege. He did that a week ago. Once he did that, either his legal team or Cohen's could release it.

[msongs]

6. not really useful everyone knows about trumps morals. it's a diversion nt

[RockRaven]

7. Remember that thru some insane logic, Trump thinks this leak helps, b/c it's his side that's leaking

For all his CAPS TWEETING the most likely leaker is his own side, not Cohen and not the feds. Which means they think the distraction or the potential to play the victim is more important than releasing to the public what appears to be a discussion of criminal activity.

[H2O Man]

10. Respectfully disagree.

Trump's team waived privilege last week, so Rudy could go on distraction patrol on the news. Once he waived privilege, it became equally possible for Cohen's team to release it. Thus, I think it's about 50-50 which one. (You are absolutely correct it wasn't SDNY.)

If it were Trump's team, I'm wondering why they didn't release it when they leaked information from the transcript last week? Last week's release was definitely Trump's team, sending a message. The release of the tape could easily be a Cohen message to Trump.

[coeur_de_lion]

21. What do you think

last week's message was supposed to be, from trump side?

[H2O Man]

22. Last week's effort

involved three related things: it was the delivery of divorce papers to Cohen, an attempt to inoculate Trump by making public some of the general information Cohen has, and an effort to distract attention from the issues relating to the Trump-Putin meeting.

[coeur_de_lion]

23. I remember the days

when we used to have one big long thread about the Plame affair. We all contributed to the same thread and made new ones when they got to be too large.

But this shit is way too chaotic, multi-faceted, and voluminous to keep to one thread. So it makes it really hard to keep track of it all.

It's like a hydra -- multi-headed monster.

I wish it would end and we could all be back to the normal level of freakout over GOP criminal shenanigans.

[Dopers_Greed]

11. This was leaked to serve Trump

1. Everyone either already knows about this, or doesn't care
2. It distracts from Russia and child concentration camps
3. He gets to moan about "leaks"

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. Yep

Trump had this released as a distraction and why not?

None of his idiot base gave a shit about Hollywood Access tape and this is much tamer.

[moosewhisperer]

13. Ummm...

Lanny Davis, Cohen’s lawyer, released it.

[mobeau69]

15. Yep, and Cohen releasing it means he doesn't have a deal with Mueller yet. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. No. RELEASED officially by Cohen lawyer to counter Ghouliani disinformation & slander . . . nt

[Snellius]

14. So let's hear it. Trump's greatest hits.

Volume I with 11 more to go. Or maybe they're dupes.