Michael Cohen Secretly Taped Trump Discussing Payment to Playboy Model

[SummerMadness]

Michael Cohen Secretly Taped Trump Discussing Payment to Playboy Model

President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Mr. Trump two months before the presidential election in which they discussed payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, according to lawyers and others familiar with the recording.

The F.B.I. seized the recording this year during a raid on Mr. Cohen’s office. The Justice Department is investigating Mr. Cohen’s involvement in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Mr. Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors want to know whether that violated federal campaign finance laws, and any conversation with Mr. Trump about those payments would be of keen interest to them.

 

[Kentonio]

I wonder if hearing it in his own words will finally convince his supporters on the religious right that it actually happened?

 

[CitizenD]

INB4 the right blames Cohen for violating Trump's privacy...

...and to state that DC and NY are one party consent jurisdictions for audio recording.

 

[cow451]

I wonder if hearing it in his own words will finally convince his supporters on the religious right that it actually happened?

He misspoke.

 

[theQuincunx5]

Cheating on one's wife is what any red-blooded god-fearing AMERICAN MAN would do! Boys will be boys, donthca' know? At least Trump isn't some limp-wristed, latte-drinkin' elite egg-head like Obama. Obama apparently couldn't even get a mistress! What a wuss.

Bill Clinton was a horrible man for cheating on his wife. But she attacked the women he cheated on her with and that makes her a bad person too. Whew! Right-Think is dizzying.

 

[Hank77]

I wonder if hearing it in his own words will finally convince his supporters on the religious right that it actually happened?

Are you saying that the religious right are the only Trump supporters who would care that he has consistently lied about this?

 

[GoldenBoy89]

I wonder if hearing it in his own words will finally convince his supporters on the religious right that it actually happened?

Oh sweet, naive Kentonio... Are you new to this?

 

[camille70]

Are you saying that the religious right are the only Trump supporters who would care that he has consistently lied about this?

They come across as the only ones not aware that he lies. Or try to. Their get out of jail free card has been all his indiscretions were years old and since he has been running for office he has been redeemed and he is a changed man. So now that we have a recording that took place while he was a candidate and that he lied about while he was a candidate, will it cause loss of support? I'm betting on no.

It used to be unfaithful in little, unfaithful in much and people like To Trump were to be avoided. Now it's since he's been unfaithful in much, one more loss of faith means nothing and is hardly noticeable so what's the big deal?

Personally, I think it's a distraction to change this week's news from being a possible traitor back to being the well known liar and philanderer people have become comfortable with.

 

[Hank77]

They come across as the only ones not aware that he lies. Or try to. Their get out of jail free card has been all his indiscretions were years old and since he has been running for office he has been redeemed and he is a changed man. So now that we have a recording that took place while he was a candidate and that he lied about while he was a candidate, will it cause loss of support? I'm betting on no.

It used to be unfaithful in little, unfaithful in much and people like To Trump were to be avoided. Now it's since he's been unfaithful in much, one more loss of faith means nothing and is hardly noticeable so what's the big deal?

Personally, I think it's a distraction to change this week's news from being a possible traitor back to being the well known liar and philanderer people have become comfortable with.

So the Trump supporters who are not religious right have turned against him and don't defend his lies? I don't think so.

 

[cow451]

So the Trump supporters who are not religious right have turned against him and don't defend his lies? I don't think so.

I don’t think many minds were changed. However, some lukewarm members of Congress are sweating a bit more.

 

[camille70]

So the Trump supporters who are not religious right have turned against him and don't defend his lies? I don't think so.

I don't think any of his supporters have turned against him. I can't speak for the person you originally quoted, but the reason I tend to single out the Christian supporters is to highlight the hypocrisy.

Personally I don't care about Trump's infidelity. If Melania likes it, I love it. It is their business. Just like I don't fault Hillary for staying with Bill and keeping her family together, I don't fault Melania either.

Trump's is only an issue insofar as he is being embraced by the side that would run a dem out of town for the same offense. I still remember the article Franklin Graham wrote about Bill Clinton, but suddenly Trump's affairs are off limit. I would chalk it up to personal growth, but we will see the same condemnation thing again as soon as it doesn't involve a republican.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

Nothing. There is nothing Trump can do that would alienate his base.

Trump apparently thinks there's nothing he can say or do that would alienate his base either because he said, "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters" during his presidential campaign (Source). And quite honestly, I think he's right and he knows it.

 

[Hank77]

I don't think any of his supporters have turned against him. I can't speak for the person you originally quoted, but the reason I tend to single out the Christian supporters is to highlight the hypocrisy.

Personally I don't care about Trump's infidelity. If Melania likes it, I love it. It is their business. Just like I don't fault Hillary for staying with Bill and keeping her family together, I don't fault Melania either.

Trump's is only an issue insofar as he is being embraced by the side that would run a dem out of town for the same offense. I still remember the article Franklin Graham wrote about Bill Clinton, but suddenly Trump's affairs are off limit. I would chalk it up to personal growth, but we will see the same condemnation thing again as soon as it doesn't involve a republican.

This I agree with. I find it very disheartening as a Christian.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

Well, it's not exactly a group that concerns itself greatly with morality or ethics.

Not since Trump came onto the political scene anyway. It's ironic how these Christians have changed their moral tune from being morally indignant and outraged about Bill Clinton and his sexual scandals to being very dismissive of Donald Trump and his sexual scandals. You know, even some of their most prominent evangelical leaders quickly changed their moral tune about adultery and sexual depravity of the president. Prominent Religious Right leaders like James Dobson comes to mind. Below is what he said about Bill Clinton and then what he said about Donald Trump. Notice the difference of attitude.

James Dobson condemning Bill Clinton in 1998: "Character does matter. You can't run a family, let alone a country without it. How foolish to believe that a person who lacks honesty and moral integrity is qualified to lead a nation and the world." (Source)

James Dobson endorsing Donald Trump is 2016: "I’m not under any illusions that he is an outstanding moral example. It’s a cliché but true: We are electing a commander-in-chief, not a theologian-in-chief.” (Source)

Can you imagine the moral indignation from evangelical conservative Christians if Obama had been an adulterous philander and in his third marriage to his former mistress or had paid $130,000 to a inappropriate content star to keep her mouth shut about their affair or had fathered five children with three different women or had bragged about groping a woman in her private area and forcing himself upon her?

I don't think they would have called that Locker Room Banter, do you? Do you think they would have been morally indignant if Obama had said he would have dated his daughter if she wasn't his daughter or had agreed with Howard Stern that his daughter was...? It’s ironic how we can’t even say what he said about his own daughter because it’s profane and to say it would violate the site rule about not using profanity. Anyway, they would have outright condemned Obama and shunned him, like they did Bill Clinton, if he had any sexual scandals or any kind of scandal like Donald Trump has had.

 

[USincognito]

{Trump}

That's Obama on the tape.

{/Trump}

 

[KCfromNC]

Still waiting to see how long it takes for RNC and/or RT marching orders to filter out to the rank and file. So far looks like radio silence on this one, so I'm guessing they're still thinking up how to spin this.

 

[theQuincunx5]

Still waiting to see how long it takes for RNC and/or RT marching orders to filter out to the rank and file. So far looks like radio silence on this one, so I'm guessing they're still thinking up how to spin this.

It's going through translation into English

 

[DaisyDay]

What's funny is that now they're not denying the pay-off, but still denying the underlying affair. SMH.

 

[cow451]

What's funny is that now they're not denying the pay-off, but still denying the underlying affair. SMH.

Mr. Smart Businessman paying women not to have sex...... ?

 

[Allandavid]

This I agree with. I find it very disheartening as a Christian.

I’m not a Christian; I’m not of any religion...but I also find Trump’s alley-cat behaviour disgusting. However, as Camille says, that’s ultimately between him and his family.

The part of this that should concern is the series of secret payments made to these women for their silence, designed to improve Trump’s electoral fortunes...