President Donald Trump, weighing in on reports that Michael Cohen secretly recorded a conversation with him in 2016, tweeted Saturday that a lawyer taping a client is perhaps illegal but, nevermind, "your favorite President" did nothing wrong.
Trump's tweet followed a report that Cohen, his one-time lawyer and fixer, secretly recorded a conversation in which he and Trump discussed payments to a former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
The development was first reported Friday by The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal reported subsequently that the conversation took place in person.
The person, who has reviewed the transcript of the contact but who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the recording was made about two months before the 2016 election and was among the materials seized during an April FBI raid on Cohen's office, home and hotel room.
Trump's tweets lashed out at both points.
"Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," he tweeted. "Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!"
In an interview with The Times, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirmed Trump discussed the payments with Cohen on the tape, but he asserted that Trump did not engage in any wrongdoing.
"Nothing in that conversation suggests he had any knowledge of it in advance," Giuliani said.
Lanny Davis, one of Cohen's lawyers, claimed in a written statement late Friday that the contents of the recording would not be damaging for his client.
“Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that," Davis said. "But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen. Any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape.”
The revelation casts a fresh spotlight on efforts before the presidential campaign to put the lid on damaging disclosures about Trump, as well as the trove of information Cohen might possess as he weighs cooperating with prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors in New York have been investigating whether Cohen's actions, including a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, violated campaign-finance laws as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe into the longtime Trump fixer.
Daniels, who said she had sex with Trump in 2006, received $130,000 from Cohen days before the election in exchange for her silence. After months of denials, Trump in May filed a financial disclosure report showing he reimbursed Cohen for the Daniels' payment.
The taped conversation now in the FBI's possession involves Karen McDougal, a former Playboy centerfold who said she had an affair with Trump that began in 2006. McDougal received a $150,000 payment in August 2016 from the parent company of the National Enquirer. But the tabloid did not publish the story, keeping it out of public view.
The head of the Enquirer's parent company, David Pecker, is a Trump ally. In a lawsuit she has since settled, McDougal argued that Cohen secretly intervened in the deal she struck with the tabloid's owner.
Daniels, meanwhile, is suing to break free of her confidentiality agreement.
Trump has denied the affairs.
President Donald Trump, weighing in on reports that Michael Cohen secretly recorded a conversation with him in 2016, tweeted Saturday that a lawyer taping a client is perhaps illegal but, nevermind, "your favorite President" did nothing wrong.
Trump's tweet followed a report that Cohen, his one-time lawyer and fixer, secretly recorded a conversation in which he and Trump discussed payments to a former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
The development was first reported Friday by The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal reported subsequently that the conversation took place in person.
The person, who has reviewed the transcript of the contact but who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the recording was made about two months before the 2016 election and was among the materials seized during an April FBI raid on Cohen's office, home and hotel room.
Trump's tweets lashed out at both points.
"Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," he tweeted. "Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!"
In an interview with The Times, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirmed Trump discussed the payments with Cohen on the tape, but he asserted that Trump did not engage in any wrongdoing.
"Nothing in that conversation suggests he had any knowledge of it in advance," Giuliani said.
Lanny Davis, one of Cohen's lawyers, claimed in a written statement late Friday that the contents of the recording would not be damaging for his client.
“Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that," Davis said. "But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen. Any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape.”
The revelation casts a fresh spotlight on efforts before the presidential campaign to put the lid on damaging disclosures about Trump, as well as the trove of information Cohen might possess as he weighs cooperating with prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors in New York have been investigating whether Cohen's actions, including a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, violated campaign-finance laws as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe into the longtime Trump fixer.
Daniels, who said she had sex with Trump in 2006, received $130,000 from Cohen days before the election in exchange for her silence. After months of denials, Trump in May filed a financial disclosure report showing he reimbursed Cohen for the Daniels' payment.
The taped conversation now in the FBI's possession involves Karen McDougal, a former Playboy centerfold who said she had an affair with Trump that began in 2006. McDougal received a $150,000 payment in August 2016 from the parent company of the National Enquirer. But the tabloid did not publish the story, keeping it out of public view.
The head of the Enquirer's parent company, David Pecker, is a Trump ally. In a lawsuit she has since settled, McDougal argued that Cohen secretly intervened in the deal she struck with the tabloid's owner.
Daniels, meanwhile, is suing to break free of her confidentiality agreement.
Trump has denied the affairs.
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