Michael Cohen Admits to Secretly Recording Trump Before Election

(LibertySociety.com) – Former President Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, recorded Trump’s phone conversations secretly prior to the 2016 election, according to his testimony to the Manhattan Supreme Court on May 13.

Cohen had worked for Trump for over 10 years, and during his testimony, he said that the only time he recorded Trump’s conversations was on September 6, 2016. He used his iPhone Voice Memo app to tape the three-minute conversation.

Susan Hoffinger, the Assistant District Attorney, played the tape for the jurors in court. During the conversation, Trump talked about buying the rights from the magazine, The National Enquirer, to Karen McDougal’s account of the relationship between her and Trump. The National Enquirer’s then-publisher, David Pecker, had previously paid McDougal for the rights to publish her account.

Cohen stated that the recording was meant to reassure Pecker that Trump intended to repay him for the amount he paid McDougal for the rights. Cohen testified that Pecker had said he did not intend to publish the account. He also testified that the tape would prove that Trump intended to pay him, as he could hear the conversation for himself.

Another reason Cohen gave for recording Trump’s conversation without his knowledge was to ensure Pecker’s loyalty to Trump was intact. His testimony also told the jury that Trump was aware that McDougal sold her accounting of the relationship to Pecker and stated that Trump agreed to pay him $150,000.

Cohen stated that he was sitting at Trump’s desk, holding his phone, while they were speaking. He testified that Trump was unaware of the recording.

The prosecutors’ case rests on the allegations that Trump falsified business records. The prosecutors assert that Trump covered Cohen’s payments to Pecker and actress Stormy Daniels by claiming in his financial records that Cohen’s payments were for legal expenses.

Trump has continually denied that he was guilty. Rudy Giuliani, the personal attorney for Trump, knew of the tape but said it contained nothing to suggest that he knew of any payments.