Michael Cohen reportedly made secret tapes of Trump talking about hush money for a Playboy model. The FBI has them now.

Michael Cohen.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Lordy, there are tapes.

Michael Cohen, President Trump's former longtime attorney, reportedly made recordings of Trump discussing payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal two months before the 2016 election, The New York Times reported Friday.

Lawyers familiar with the case say that the FBI seized the recordings when agents raided Cohen's office earlier this year. McDougal says she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which Trump denies, and Cohen is being investigated for potential campaign finance violations over allegedly paying hush money to prevent the affair allegations from going public ahead of the election.

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Trump's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that the payment was ultimately never made, and that the recordings prove Trump did nothing wrong. "Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance," said Giuliani, calling it "powerful exculpatory evidence." Read more at The New York Times.

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.