Rudy Giuliani, a leading attorney for President Donald Trump, told Fox News on Saturday that two experts and retired FBI agents have examined the tape Michael Cohen secretly recorded of Trump in 2016 and concluded it has been tampered with. The tape, which was first reported by CNN, was obtained during an FBI search of Cohen properties earlier this year.
On the tape, Cohen and Trump discuss a payment to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who alleges she entered into an affair with Trump years before he became president. What did Giuliani say?
Giuliani told Fox News the released audio of the tape is a “tape of a tape,” meaning it’s not entirely clear when the discussion between Trump and Cohen ended, whether it was cut-off prematurely or later altered.
“Since we don’t have the original, we asked for it. Our expert analysis is done until we get the raw copy, which we are seeking,” Giuliani told Fox News. “Now that we’ve seen the full scope of Cohen and [Cohen attorney] Lanny Davis’ deception, we don’t trust anything.”
However, Giuliani lamented that the chances of obtaining the original recording are slim.
The former New York City mayor also confirmed the existence of additional “Cohen tapes,” contending they mostly consist of secret recordings between Cohen and reporters discussing business pertinent to the McDougal and Stormy Daniels situations.
The unreleased tapes, just like the one CNN obtained, do not show any wrongdoing by the president, Giuliani claimed, adding that the Trump legal team is OK if they are publicly released.
How did Cohen respond?
His attorney provided Fox News the following statement:
Mr. Giuliani seems to be confused. He expressly waived attorney client privilege last week and repeatedly and inaccurately — as proven by the tape — talked and talked about the recording, forfeiting all confidentiality.
