Tape of Trump discussing hush money for alleged affair released

Donald Trump can be heard discussing with his personal lawyer how to buy the rights to the story of a Playboy model, who says she had an affair with the now president, on a tape released Tuesday by CNN.

The existence of the tape, secretly recorded by his former longtime attorney Michael Cohen two months before the 2016 election, was reported last week by the New York Times, which said the FBI seized it during a raid on Cohen's office this year.

Now, the recording is available for the world to listen to.

It involves Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had a months-long fling with Trump after they met in 2006, shortly after Trump's wife Melania gave birth to their son, Barron.

In 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.

In the at-times muddled recording, Cohen says he wants to set up a company to acquire the rights off American Media, the company that owns the Enquirer.

During the campaign, the Trump team denied any knowledge of the deal between McDougal and American Media.

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

AFP