FBI possesses audio tapes suspected of being related to President Trump's sex scandal
The FBI has a recording of President Donald Trump and his former personal lawyer before the election - Michael Cohen - talking about payments to a former Playboy model with whom he is accused of having an affair.
The New York Times reported on July 20 that President Donald Trump was recorded by his longtime lawyer discussing payments to a former Playboy model with whom he is accused of having an affair, and that the tape is in the hands of the FBI. Attorney Michael Cohen also has other recordings of Mr. Trump confiscated by the FBI.
According toCNN, a lawyer who no longer works for President Trump, is being investigated for allegedly paying several women not to reveal personal and sexual stories about Mr. Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
A recording of a conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen about Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, was among documents and items belonging to Cohen seized by the FBI at his hotel, home and office in an investigation by the New York District Attorney's Office, CNN reported.
A transcript of the recording was examined by Mr Trump's legal team but they said it did not pose any legal risk to the President.
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| US President and former lawyer Michael Cohen. (Photo: CNN) |
The first disclosure of the McDougal recording wasNew York TimesThe reports raise questions about what Mr. Trump and his colleagues could do to prevent the extramarital allegations from becoming public before the election. Manhattan prosecutors are investigating whether the payments violated campaign finance laws and whether Mr. Cohen committed other financial crimes.
According to campaign finance law experts, if a payment is made with the intent of influencing an election—for example, to prevent allegations that are unfavorable to a candidate—it will be considered part of a campaign whether or not it is made using a campaign account.
According to Giuliani, Mr. Trump did not know he was being recorded during this discussion when it occurred in the candidate's office at Trump Tower in September 2016. Regarding the election campaign, Mr. Giuliani said "there is nothing in the conversation that suggests it was part of the campaign. There was no discussion about endangering the campaign," and the payment to AMI did not ultimately occur.
According to CNN, the spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office and Mr. Cohen declined to comment. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mrs. Melania Trump said she wanted to focus on her role as a mother and First Lady of the United States. "We will not comment further on this topic," said spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.
