US President Donald Trump and his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen are heard on an audio tape discussing whether to buy the rights to a Playboy model’s story that she had an affair in 2006 with the New York billionaire
(MARK WILSON, NICHOLAS KAMM)

New York (AFP) – The dramatic leak of a taped conversation between Donald Trump and his longtime attorney Michael Cohen signals an aggressive new strategy by the former fixer, raising questions about how much the US leader has to fear should he cooperate with prosecutors.

On the tape, which was broadcast Tuesday, Trump can be heard discussing with Cohen how to hush up allegations that he had an affair with a Playboy model in 2006 and buying the rights to her story.

The tape was reportedly recorded two months before the 2016 presidential election — before the Trump campaign subsequently denied any knowledge about Karen McDougal’s allegations of a 10-month fling with the tycoon.

Cohen’s lawyer released the tape to television CNN network, an arch critic of the Trump administration, and in a flurry of interviews declared his client had “turned a corner” and would continue to speak “the truth.”

Cohen, who once declared he was so loyal he would “take a bullet for the president,” is under federal investigation in New York for his business dealings and reportedly whether hush payments violated campaign finance laws.

In addition to being involved in efforts to hush up McDougal’s story, he famously paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels just weeks before the election to silence her own claims of an alleged one-night stand with Trump.

On Wednesday, his newly hired, high-powered attorney Lanny Davis compared the Cohen tape to the Watergate tapes that ultimately forced Republican president Richard Nixon to resign in 1974 to avoid impeachment.

“Listen to the tape in the way that (former White House counsel) John Dean had a tape that did in Richard Nixon,” he told ABC television. “Ultimately Donald Trump is going to be done in by the truth.”

– ‘Tell the truth’ –

Davis told CNN that Cohen had “turned a corner in his life… hit a reset button” and was “now dedicated to telling the truth.”

On Wednesday, a seething Trump lashed out, tweeting: “What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before?”

“Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things? I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped – can this be so? Too bad!”

Davis, who worked for the Bill Clinton White House, has accused Trump’s new personal lawyer, former federal prosecutor and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, of disparaging Cohen, alleging the Trump camp are “afraid” of his client.

“The question is why are they attacking him? Why am I representing him? Because he’s got truth on his side and he will continue to tell the truth,” he told CNN.

The leaking of the tape and reports that there are further recordings has fanned speculation about how much damage Cohen can inflict on the president and whether he is now mulling a cooperation deal with federal prosecutors.

Cohen told ABC News in an interview released July 2 that his family and the country commanded his “first loyalty,” fueling that speculation.

– ‘Protecting himself’ –

Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti urged Cohen again Wednesday to immediately release “all” the tapes, other evidence in his possession and “come clean” about his conduct and that of the president.

“NO MORE GAMES,” Avenatti tweeted.

On the tape, Trump and Cohen talk about buying the rights to McDougal’s story, which she had sold a month earlier to the National Enquirer for $150,000. The tabloid never published the story.

During the campaign, the Trump team denied any knowledge of the deal between McDougal and American Media, the magazine’s parent company.

But on tape, the candidate expresses no surprise when the issue comes up and Cohen talks about essentially reimbursing the company for what it paid McDougal.

“It really does signal a more aggressive stance on the part of Michael Cohen,” Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College, told AFP when asked about the significance of the leak.

“It suggests he might be no longer on the president’s side,” agreed Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

“Ultimately Michael Cohen seems to be a person who will be first and foremost concerned with protecting himself,” Zelizer added.

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