A newly released recording of Donald Trump discussing a payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal with his attorney Michael Cohen has raised fresh questions about what the president knew about efforts to silence women who have alleged affairs with him.



The tape, which was aired on CNN for the first time on Tuesday, was part of several recordings seized during an FBI raid on Cohen as part of a criminal investigation into his business dealings. Its contents both increase the scrutiny on Trump’s involvement in the payments and signal a potential rift between the president and Cohen, his longtime “fixer”.

What does the recording say?

The tape offers a glimpse of a conversation between then-candidate Trump and Cohen in September of 2016 that touches upon purchasing the rights to McDougal’s story.

Trump asks his attorney about financing when Cohen explains he will have to establish a business to buy the rights to McDougal’s story.

“We’ll have to pay,” Cohen says, to which Trump appears to respond: “Pay with cash.”

Because the audio is muddled, it is unclear if Trump was advocating for his attorney to pay with cash or not pay; but Cohen is heard saying, “No, no.”

The audio in full.

What has Trump’s team said?

The White House claimed from the beginning that Trump neither engaged in extramarital affair with McDougal and nor was he aware of any payment made to her. The response echoed the White House’s denials of an alleged affair between Trump and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who was paid $130,000 in hush money by Cohen.

The tape makes clear that Trump was at least made aware of efforts to purchase the rights to McDougal’s story. Trump’s mention of paying in cash, if proven to be his preferred method of addressing the issue, also appears to contradict statements made by Rudy Giuliani. The former New York City mayor, who joined Trump’s legal team earlier this year, claimed last week that the president sought to have the payment handled through a check so that it would be officially recorded.

Giuliani also made contradictory statements about Trump and Daniels. Although Trump said he knew nothing of that payment, Giuliani said the president personally reimbursed Cohen. He later walked back his statement, but much of what Trump knew and when he knew it remains a mystery.

Why is Cohen a key player?

For years, Cohen acted as Trump’s personal attorney and self-confessed “fix-it guy”. A keeper of Trump’s secrets and the handler of dealings in both the president’s personal and professional life, Cohen’s loyalty proved such that he once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump.

That devotion appeared to waver when Cohen became the subject of a federal criminal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations. After it was revealed earlier this year that Cohen paid for Daniels’ silence about her alleged affair with Trump, a series of questionable dealings began to surface.

Just before the 2016 election, Cohen set up a limited liability corporation (LLC), Essential Consultants, through which he made the payment to Daniels. He also struck a $600,000 deal with telecom giant AT&T following Trump’s election in an apparent bid to peddle influence.

Although he has not been charged with a crime, Cohen’s legal woes have made him increasingly likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Shifting tone, Cohen said earlier this month his only priority was his family: “My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” he said, adding: “I put my family and country first.”

Where does this fit into the Russia investigation?

The criminal inquiry into Michael Cohen is separate from the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the US election and potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. But there is potential for the two to intersect.

Federal prosecutors see Cohen as a major target to flip, given his longstanding association with Trump and others in the president’s inner circle. The FBI have already seized a trove of materials during a raid on Cohen earlier this year, and any documents relevant to the Russia investigation would likely have been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller and his team. If Cohen were to cut a deal with the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, which is overseeing his investigation, information he provides could similarly be shared with Mueller.

Cohen notably worked with Felix Sater, a Russian-born business associate of Trump’s, on an abandoned project to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow. FBI agents reportedly learned that during the process, Cohen was in frequent contact with foreign individuals about the project — some of whom had knowledge of or were involved in the 2016 election meddling.