Manhattan federal prosecutors now have 12 audio files seized in a raid on President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, including a 2016 chat between Cohen and Trump about hush money payments to an ex-Playboy model, The Post has learned.
Manhattan federal prosecutors on Monday received a dozen taped conversations involving Cohen on Monday, according to a court filing.
Among the tapes turned over is a secretly recorded chat Cohen made between him and Trump two months before the presidential election, discussing payments to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, according to a person with knowledge of the tapes.
The 1998 “Playmate of the Year” claims she had a 10-month affair with Trump more than a decade ago.
At least some, if not all, of the tapes were released after Trump’s lawyers determined that they were fair game — a move that was quickly blasted on Twitter by a lawyer for Cohen.
“Latest news @MichaelCohen212 tapes of conversations are being released by @realDonaldTrump & his legal team who own and waived the privilege,” lawyer Lanny Davis wrote on Twitter.
“Will @RudyGiuliani call these tapes “exculpatory” again? As I noted before, the tapes will speak for themselves – spin can’t change facts,” he said, referring to Trump’s lawyer and the ex-mayor of NYC.
Last week, Giuliani confirmed that Cohen secretly recorded Trump in 2016 about payments to McDougal – but claimed the tape would prove “exculpatory” to the president.
“They’re talking about a corporation doing it, one of their corporations doing it. The President says ‘make sure it’s done correctly, and make sure it’s done by check,’” Giuliani told CNN on Friday.
Giuliani also claimed that no payment to McDougal was ever made.
Davis has also claimed that the tape isn’t bad for Cohen.
“Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that. But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt @MichaelCohen212,” Davis tweeted last week. “Any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape,” he wrote.
Still, Cohen’s legal team, which includes Davis and ex-prosecutor Guy Petrillo, have been “mystified” by Trump’s decision to let prosecutors review the tapes, the source said.
Manhattan federal prosecutors and the FBI have been probing Cohen for possible bank fraud and campaign finance violations, including $130,000 in payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the presidential election.
Daniels claims she was paid to keep quiet about a one-night stand she had with Trump years before he ran for office – a claim that Trump denies.
In April, the FBI seized more than a dozen cell phones, eight boxes of documents and other electronics documents in a raid on Cohen’s office, home and hotel room.
