In the unwieldy tape, Cohen and Trump appear to be discussing plans to set up a shell company to buy the rights to McDougal’s story, which was purchased by American Media Inc. (AMI)—the parent company of the National Enquirer—for $150,000. The Enquirer never ran the story, a fact that many argue strongly suggests that the tabloid killed it at Trump’s behest.
“I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David,” Cohen said in the recording, which is likely a reference to AMI chief David Pecker.
“So, what do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?” Trump asks. Cohen says yes.
While Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani continues to insist that the president never made the hush payment and that the tape does not reveal any wrongdoing, lawmakers and ethics experts argued that the newly released audio provides evidence of a serious campaign finance violation, which was committed in the service of squashing an embarrassing pre-election story.
“This tape is more evidence that Donald Trump himself was directly involved in a campaign finance law violation,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) declared on Twitter. “And because the amount exceeded $25,000, it would be punishable as a felony. [The] Trump Tapes also show Rudy Giuliani lied. But that’s not news.”
