Michael Cohen has secret tapes of Trump discussing Playmate payout — and now the FBI has them

[phands]

I love it - trumpo's lies getting more exposed daily...but I suspect nothing will turn the rethuglicans against him....

On Friday, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump’s former personal counsel and fixer, Michael Cohen, recorded a conversation in which the President acknowledged payments to a former Playboy model.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, confirmed to the Times that Trump had discussed a payment, but that a payment was never made. He told the Times that the president is not guilty of any wrongdoing.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/mi...pes-trump-discussing-playmate-payout-now-fbi/

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

With his submission summit, I had forgotten about the affair payout(s).

Jebus, I'm surprised that the UN hasn't put the US on suicide watch yet. This is getting to be way too much.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Fake tapes, you mean.

I wonder other conversations Cohen recorded...

 

[ZiprHead]

Fake tapes, you mean.

I wonder other conversations Cohen recorded...

Supposedly Cohen recorded everything, kept extensive records, kept all his old cell phones to keeps the records on them. It's a literal treasure trove of evidence.

I wonder if he kept all that for his own protection.

 

[Bronzeage]

Unless Cohen has evidence of Trump committing treason, a high crime, or a misdemeanor, it doesn't mean much. Exposing a Trump lie has no value, as the market is flooded.

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Fake tapes, you mean.

I wonder other conversations Cohen recorded...

Supposedly Cohen recorded everything, kept extensive records, kept all his old cell phones to keeps the records on them. It's a literal treasure trove of evidence.

I wonder if he kept all that for his own protection.

Of course he did, in one sense of the word, or another. When one engages in a criminal conspiracy, you don't keep evidence against yourself.

 

[phands]

When one engages in a criminal conspiracy, you don't keep evidence against yourself.

Unless it's to make sure that if the wheels come off, the others go down with you...and for potential blackmail material for "insurance" purposes.

 

[Bronzeage]

When one engages in a criminal conspiracy, you don't keep evidence against yourself.

Unless it's to make sure that if the wheels come off, the others go down with you...and for potential blackmail material for "insurance" purposes.

That's usually the way it works. If anyone knew such a thing was necessary when working with Trump, it would be Michael Cohen.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Are affair payouts illegal?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Are affair payouts illegal?

If Trump paid by writing a check, no. If payments were made in small blocks to evade regulatory detection, yes. If the payment was made without Trump's knowledge, yes.

 

[phands]

Are affair payouts illegal?

If Trump paid by writing a check, no. If payments were made in small blocks to evade regulatory detection, yes. If the payment was made without Trump's knowledge, yes.

Also illegal if payments were made out of campaign funds, which seems to have the case with the Daniels payout.

 

[Bronzeage]

Are affair payouts illegal?

Not in themselves, but something done in secret is rarely within itself. It depends on how the money was routed. If Donald Trump withdrew the money from his personal account, it doesn't matter what he did with it. He could pay off a playmate or throw it in the Hudson River.

However, it this money was claimed as a deductible expense, that could a problem. Payoffs to extra-marital partners are not deductible. If this money was electronically transferred, that would wire fraud to any other financial crime.

The FBI has guys who do nothing but figure how money is used in the commission of a crime. There's nothing they haven't seen.

 

[Trausti]

 

[Loren Pechtel]

When one engages in a criminal conspiracy, you don't keep evidence against yourself.

Unless it's to make sure that if the wheels come off, the others go down with you...and for potential blackmail material for "insurance" purposes.

I don't think it's so much about making the others go down with you as ensuring that powerful people don't want you to go down because of what the prosecutor will find in your records.

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Are affair payouts illegal?

No--but failing to disclose a campaign expense like that is.

 

[ZiprHead]

I don't think it's so much about making the others go down with you as ensuring that powerful people don't want you to go down because of what the prosecutor will find in your records.

Considering the people associated in this affair, I'm wondering if it's more like "I turn up dead or disappear, this stuff will automatically be disclosed."

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It is actually kind of awesome. As an irrelevant celebrity, we can be impressed with all the quality tail that he used to score. It's when he decided to stop being irrelevant and made a choice to do a bunch of illegal shit to cover up his getting that tail, such as money laundering, campaign finance violations, exposure to blackmail, etc, that it became less awesome.

Now, Trump's affairs and the crimes he's committed to cover them up are, of course, the least of the problems with him at the moment, even though they get more play than they warrant due to how sex sells the best.

 

[Mumbles]

Fake tapes, you mean.

I wonder other conversations Cohen recorded...

Supposedly Cohen recorded everything, kept extensive records, kept all his old cell phones to keeps the records on them. It's a literal treasure trove of evidence.

I wonder if he kept all that for his own protection.

Surprised nobody put 2 and 2 together yet.

Let's say, as is obvious, that Cohen had numerous tapes.

And let's say that this tape was in fact leaked to the media, somehow.

Now then - what are the odds that this is the worst of the tapes that Cohen had on Trump?

My answer, just as a hunch, is "Zero."

 

[Keith&Co.]

Are affair payouts illegal?

if the purpose of the payout and buying the rights to the story was to keep it from the voters for the election, and it wasn't declared as a campaign contribution, then yes.

 

[braces_for_impact]

It is actually kind of awesome. As an irrelevant celebrity, we can be impressed with all the quality tail that he used to score. It's when he decided to stop being irrelevant and made a choice to do a bunch of illegal shit to cover up his getting that tail, such as money laundering, campaign finance violations, exposure to blackmail, etc, that it became less awesome.

Now, Trump's affairs and the crimes he's committed to cover them up are, of course, the least of the problems with him at the moment, even though they get more play than they warrant due to how sex sells the best.

I have never understood men who allow themselves to be in awe of other men based on their reproductive choices. These are the same men that will use the word "cuck" and play at being "Alpha" while at the same time showing their submissiveness to other men as themselves inferior because the other man was able to attract good looking women. Only shallow idiots and 12 year old boys would hold such views. Seriously, how can one be proud of another man for a choice they made in a woman that YOU had absolutely NOTHING to do with? If anything Trump is PROOF that all it takes is money to attract certain types of people. Instead, consider a man and woman that both get together and stay committed to each other because of love and mutual respect, forming a real partnership. Now THAT'S impressive. I'll respect a woman that WOULDN'T leave her man for millions of dollars more than a woman that will sleep with a fat, orange, ignoramus like Trump. The thought of him having sex with anyone is enough to make me shudder. I will hand these strippers and playmates one thing, they do have strong stomachs and iron constitutions.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

It occurs to me.... What if Trump's people set all of this up or are now playing it as a distraction? It could be that Trump did nothing wrong here, is getting to play to his base (as noted above) and got the police to raid his attorney's office and his attorney to secretly record him without his consent (both of which can be played "bigly" to paint him as a victim).

Trump could then use that he did nothing wrong here to try to exhaust outrage and suspiscion over Putin having another entirely different sex scandal over him.

 

[JohnG]

It occurs to me.... What if Trump's people set all of this up or are now playing it as a distraction? It could be that Trump did nothing wrong here, is getting to play to his base (as noted above) and got the police to raid his attorney's office and his attorney to secretly record him without his consent (both of which can be played "bigly" to paint him as a victim).

Trump could then use that he did nothing wrong here to try to exhaust outrage and suspiscion over Putin having another entirely different sex scandal over him.

Rachel Maddow made an interesting point:
The tapes were one of the few items deemed attorney/client priveledge, they were something Cohen could use in a plea bargain. The tapes are suspected to be leaked by Trumps own lawyers in an effort to take away any evidence away that he could negotiate with.