Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg reportedly will rely in part on a secretly made recording as evidence in the criminal fraud case against former President Donald Trump.
The recording, made in secret in 2016, features a conversation between Trump and a witness who is reportedly understood to be Michael Cohen. ABC News reported that the recording included discussions to pay Playboy model Karen McDougal to stay quiet in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
“The recording is included in a document known as an Automatic Discovery Form that lists the kind of evidence Manhattan prosecutors have amassed during their multi-year investigation, in preparation for it to be turned over to Trump’s attorneys as they prepare his defense,” ABC News reported.
Now Bragg will use the recording in his efforts to show Trump is guilty. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Cohen in the Recording?
The person speaking across from Trump in the secret recording is not named. But according to ABC News, the anonymous voice belongs to Michael Cohen.
Cohen, at the time the recording was made, served as Trump’s personal attorney. Cohen previously told investigators that he coordinated with National Enquirer publisher David Pecker to suppress a story that McDougal had allegedly had an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007. The deal allegedly included a payment of $150,000 to McDougal.
On the secret recording in question, Trump and (presumably) Cohen are heard discussing the McDougal deal.
“Don’t pay with cash…check,” Trump is allegedly heard saying on the recording.
Bragg’s Case Against Trump
Alvin Bragg made history when he charged Trump. No sitting or former president had ever been charged criminally before.
“The Manhattan inquiry, which has spanned nearly five years, centers on a $130,000 payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump,” The New York Times reported. “The payment was made in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign by Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer, who was later reimbursed by Mr. Trump from the White House.”
But Bragg’s case against Trump is commonly understood to be thin — so thin that many are speculating that Bragg’s motivation for bringing charges may have been more political than legal. Indeed, actually convicting Trump is going to be a legal longshot.
“The case against the former president hinges on an untested and therefore risky legal theory involving a complex interplay of laws, all amounting to a low level felony,” The New York Times reported. “Convicting him or sending him to prison will be challenging.”
So don’t expect some recording of Trump perhaps encouraging Cohen to use a check instead of cash to serve as some sort of silver bullet for the Manhattan prosecutors. Instead, the Manhattan case will likely end as all attempts to “get” Trump seem to end: with Trump wiggling out unscathed, his base energized, his conviction solidified.
Trump has survived worse than Bragg or this new Cohen recording. Trump has even survived worse recordings (the Access Hollywood recording, for example). The Bragg trial and the Cohen recording are likely going to be blips on the radar.
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Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
