Michael Cohen's Tape Sounds Like He Could Bring Down Trump

[DonViejo]

The president could be liable for conspiracy based on what he discussed with his fixer. It’s a lot like mafia cases we’ve prosecuted.

MIRIAM ROCAH
ELIE HONIG
07.25.18 5:04 PM ET

The release of a secretly recorded conversation between Michael Cohen and Donald Trump about a proposed secret payment to one of Trump’s supposed mistresses goes a long way towards a potential criminal charge for both men.

The tape captures Cohen and Trump discussing setting up a shell corporation to pay “David” (presumably David Pecker, who owns the National Enquirer’s parent company, AMI) for the rights to Karen McDougal’s story that was acquired by AMI in a “capture and kill” move: AMI purchased exclusive rights to the damaging story of Trump’s affair and didn’t run it.

Lanny Davis, one of Cohen’s lawyers, told CNN that he released the recording to show that Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani lied last week when he claimed that Cohen raised the idea of paying cash. Davis claims that the recording clearly shows Trump proposing the idea of paying “cash,” while Giuliani continues to dispute this.

First, in our opinion as prosecutors who have spent hundreds of hours painstakingly scrutinizing similar recordings, it does sound like Trump is the one who proposed paying cash. Beyond that, it is entirely clear that Cohen and Trump agreed on the need to set up a shell company to make the payment, as the Wall Street Journal reported Cohen in fact formed. So, Mr. Giuliani, why set up a shell company to make the payment if there was nothing to hide? Why not just make the payment directly from Donald Trump or the Trump campaign?

Looking at the bigger picture, there is much more here than just a dispute about who says “cash” and who says “check.” From a prosecutor’s perspective, this recording is crucial evidence that could add significantly to the strength of potential felony charges.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-cohens-tape-sounds-like-he-could-bring-down-trump?ref=home

[Chris Studio]

1. He said

That he thought the company would protect his identity.

That no one else on the campaign, etc. should be told about it.

And wanted to pay cash.

Truly the most guilty sounding conversation you could hear.