Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 26 July 2018
Trump tape a turning point in legal game of cat-and-mouse

By JONATHAN LEMIRE and not authorized to discuss revelation of the audio on
ZEKE MILLER, Associated them publicly. prime-time television, com-
Press Cohen, who would make plete with exaggerated
WASHINGTON (AP) — The bad stories disappear and appeals by Davis to Trump's
sudden public airing of travel the globe to make supporters to listen to the
Donald Trump talking deals for the Trump Orga- president's comments, was
about paying for a Play- nization, now feels increas- designed to impeach the
boy model's silence marks ingly isolated and burned credibility of the president
a turning point in the legal by the attacks against him and his leading lawyer.
game of cat-and-mouse by Trump attorney Rudy The recorded conversation
between the president and Giuliani and by the presi- took place in early Septem-
the lawyer who once prom- dent's efforts to play down ber 2016. But a campaign
ised to take a bullet for him his former fixer's role. spokesperson told The Wall
but now seems out to save And when the president's le- Street Journal in November
himself. gal team waived attorney- of that year concerning
The feud between Trump client privilege, prompting the McDougal agreement:
and his onetime legal "fix- Giuliani to declare that "We have no knowledge of
er," Michael Cohen, esca- This combination photo shows President Donald Trump and the tape was "exculpa- any of this." Trump, for his
lated Wednesday when attorney Michael Cohen. tory" for Trump, Cohen's part, weighed in on Twitter
an audio recording of their Associated Press team moved to release it, on Wednesday, suggest-
2016 pre-election conver- believing it backed up his ing the sudden conclusion
sation was released by Co- The tape, made just weeks into whether the lawyer own version of events, the to the recording should be
hen, prompting Trump to before the 2016 election, violated election laws by people said. The attorney viewed suspiciously.
tweet, "What kind of a law- appears to undermine orchestrating hush mon- told confidants that he was "Why was the tape so
yer would tape a client? So Trump's contention that he ey payouts.Cohen says tired of being a punching abruptly terminated (cut)
sad!" was not aware of a pay- on the tape he's already bag and wanted to try to while I was presumably
As the two sides battled ment to former Playboy spoken with the Trump seize control of the story. saying positive things?" he
over the exact meaning Playmate Karen McDou- Organization's finance The meaning of the tape is tweeted. "I hear there are
of the sometimes-garbled gal, who has alleged she chief, Allen Weisselberg, up for debate. other clients and many
words on the recording, had an affair with the mar- on "how to set the whole Days before the record- reporters that are taped -
it was clear that the tape ried future president. thing up."Weisselberg's in- ing, American Media Inc., can this be so? Too bad!"
could be just an open- That raises questions about volvement raises questions which owns the National Trump's searing tweets
ing volley. At least a doz- possible campaign fi- about whether Trump's pri- Enquirer, paid $150,000 to marked a new low point in
en more recordings were nance violations. It shows vate business tried to pro- McDougal for the rights to his relationship with Cohen,
seized from Cohen's office Cohen advising Trump on tect his campaign. her story about the alleged who worked for the presi-
as well as hundreds of thou- campaign matters, and Trump's lawyers say the 2006 affair. She later sued, dent for a decade and
sands of documents. that could be of interest payments were never claiming that AMI paid for grew close to his family.
to investigators looking made the story with the inten- Though Cohen was Trump's
The tape's revelations also tion of burying it to protect right-hand man at the busi-
mark a new chapter for Co- Trump. AMI president David ness, he was not given a
hen who, as he mulls coop- Pecker is a close friend of major role in the campaign.
erating with federal prose- the president. He did run the president's
cutors and perhaps special Cohen is heard on the tape outreach to faith groups
counsel Robert Mueller, is discussing AMI's payment, and became a fierce de-
viewed by many in Trump's and says of "David" that fender on television, includ-
orbit as the greatest threat "I'll have to pay him some- ing a notable CNN clip in
to the former businessman's thing." which he demands, "Says
presidency. The audio is muffled but who?" after being shown
Cohen rose through the Trump can be heard saying poor poll numbers.
ranks of the Trump orga- something about "cash," Though he hoped for a key
nization by mimicking his and then something about White House positions, Co-
boss' style in handling his paying by check. Giuliani hen was left behind in New
personal and political insists Trump says, "Don't York, where he capitalized
problems. Now he and his pay with cash." on his access to the presi-
own attorney, former Clin- But Davis, Cohen's attorney, dent in business dealings
ton lawyer Lanny Davis, maintains that Trump's ref- with a number of corporate
are taking another page erence to "cash" is damag- clients. Famously brusque
from the Trump playbook ing. "The only people who with most reporters, he
— fighting a legal battle in use cash are drug deal- vehemently challenged
the court of public opinion. ers and mobsters," he told the references to him in a
With his apartment under CNN. In another twist in a dossier of uncorroborated
construction after a pipe tale full of them, Davis him- information about Trump
burst, Cohen has been self had previously worked even as he was called in to
holed up in a Midtown with AMI and moved to testify before special coun-
Manhattan hotel. From squash unflattering stories. sel Mueller.
that luxurious bunker, Co- He did not return calls for After the raid by federal
hen has grown increasingly comment on Wednesday. prosecutors, Cohen's rela-
concerned that his relation- Whichever account is ac- tionship with Trump shat-
ship with the president has curate, the tape appears tered. The men have not
fractured beyond repair, to bring limited addition- spoken for months and Gi-
according to two people al legal exposure to the uliani has routinely lobbed
familiar with his views but president himself. But the grenades at the attorney.q