The fight with his trusted lawyer exposes more to Trump in the judicial front

WASHINGTON.-


Donald Trump
spoke, as he had so often, with one of his most loyal attorneys, the man who solved his problems, not knowing that months later, this conversation would be heard in the whole country and it would be exposed like never before

In an escalation in his confrontation with his old client, Michael Cohen, exasperated personal of the president, made public a conversation that had with Trump, and recorded at the same time middle of the countryside, in which
both are discussing alternatives to try to prevent the story of a former Playboy ex-model, Karen McDougal, about an alleged affair with the tycoon was discovered just before the presidential election.

"So, how much do we pay for that? One hundred and fifty?", Trump asks

"Yes, and that's all," answers Cohen

.In conversation, Cohen tells Trump that he must "pay something" to "our friend David"., an alleged reference to David Pecker, president and CEO of American Media Inc. (AMI), and an ally of the tycoon. During the presidential campaign, AMI paid McDougal $ 150,000 to acquire rights to the story of his alleged love with


Trump
. The editor "buried" history, a maneuver unveiled by the newspaper
The Wall Street Journal a few days before the elections. At that time, the Trump team denied any knowledge of the payment, and denied McDougal's romance and story.

Cohen discusses with Trump the possibility of starting a business – something he finally did in September 2016, according to the
Wall Street Journal – to make the transfer, and the president seems to say "do not pay in cash", then he mentions the word "check", according to the audio of the conversation.

The conversation, fragmented, is somewhat ambiguous and leaves several questions. Cohen's lawyers have only unveiled a fraction, and the voices overlap. In this fragment of almost three minutes, none of them has ever mentioned McDougal or AMI at any time. But anonymous sources related to Trump and Cohen quoted in the press said the question is the payment to the exmodel.

But the interview seems to contradict the official account of the McDougal scandal, and its spread marked a turning point in the Trump and Cohen bond that toppled the wall of loyalty that protected the intimate environment of the president during his political rise in the White House. Trump and his team had tried to come out of the scandal triggered by McDougal, denying not only romance but all the knowledge about the payment he received for his silence.

"Michael Cohen has taken a new direction in his life and is determined to tell the truth," he said last night in an interview with CNN, Lanny Davis, Cohen's lawyer. Davis, who was expecting to have more recordings, denounced a Trump campaign – which he called a "liar" and his people to discredit his client. "The only people who use money are drug traffickers and gangsters". ] Rudolph Giuliani, Trump's lawyer, cleared the president, stating that there is absolutely nothing in the conversation that suggests that the president has committed a crime. And he contradicted Cohen's reading of the tape, stating that Trump had never suggested that any payment be made in cash.

"If Cohen tells the truth, why does he and Lanny Davis misrepresent President Trump's language ?:" Do not pay in cash … check "and why they are fleeing confidential and falsely confidential information … for ethics! ", tweeted Giuliani.

The president's attorney insisted on several opportunities that Trump asks Cohen not to make cash payments and that the registration is "exculpatory" for the agent. Giuliani did not deny that Trump was aware of the McDougal scandal at the time of the conversation

"At least with respect to the transaction we are talking about, I mean, he could or could not have known about McDougal's charges. do not know, but he did not know about this transaction, it's the conversation in which they talk about how they will buy the rights, "said Giuliani in an interview with Fox News.

The recording is part of the material that the FBI took from Cohen's offices, which is under federal investigation.Cohen's confrontation with Trump may suggest that he is closer to cooperating with justice, a turning point that could bring new evidence to the investigation on Russiagate, headed by the special prosecutor Robert Mueller.Trump said that the whole investigation is a "farce" and a "witch hunt."

The House Blanche announced yesterday that Trump ad decided to suspend his invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to a new summit in Washington. The "witch hunt" will be over.

"The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the end of the Russian witch hunt," said National Security Councilor John Bolton. Nobody knows for sure when it will happen.