Giuliani: Tapes Show Cohen ‘Explaining Something’ Trump ‘Doesn’t Understand’

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani looks on as President Donald Trump announces his Supreme Court nominee on July 9, 2018. (Photo credit: LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday evening scrambled to spread his legal team’s conflicting take on what was revealed in the release of audio of Trump’s conversation with his former lawyer about a payment to a former Playboy model just ahead of the 2016 election.

Giuliani claimed that the recording, made by ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, “doesn’t” indicate that Trump knew about plans to purchase the rights to Karen McDougal’s story — about an alleged affair with Trump — from American Media Inc.

“That’s open to interpretation, and we can have a fight about that. … To me it sounds like Cohen is explaining something to [Trump] that he doesn’t understand,” Giuliani told The Washington Post on Tuesday evening, shortly after Cohen’s lawyer gave CNN a copy of the recordings. “He doesn’t seem that familiar with anything. There is nothing to indicate he knew anything in advance.”

Giuliani also took his spin to Fox News on Tuesday night, telling the network that there’s “no indication of any crime being committed on this tape” and claiming the tape was “leaked on us with a very, very scurrilous description” of what was on it.

Giuliani disputed a key claim made by Cohen’s lawyer — that the tape shows Trump suggested that Cohen use cash to make the payment. Giuliani claimed Trump said “don’t pay with cash.”

“There’s no way the President is going to be setting up a corporation and then using cash, unless you’re a complete idiot,” he told Fox News.

Read the full transcript of the recording here and listen the audio of the exchange in question here. 

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. "To me it sounds like Cohen is explaining something to [Trump] that he doesn’t understand,” Giuliani told The Washington Post on Tuesday evening, shortly after Michael Cohen’s lawyer gave CNN a copy of the recordings. “He doesn’t seem that familiar with anything. There is nothing to indicate he knew anything in advance.”

    Except the fact that he doesn’t seem surprised, doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t say “WTF are you talking about?” and is very matter of fact discussing a payoff to buy silence that he wants to make in cash through a shell company to avoid scrutiny and campaign finance laws.

    “There’s no way the President is going to be setting up a corporation and then using cash, unless you’re a complete idiot,” he told Fox News.

    BINGO!

  2. “He doesn’t seem that familiar with anything. There is nothing to indicate he knew anything in advance.”

    Hmm …

    COHEN: And, I’ve spoken to Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up with …

    TRUMP: So, what do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?

    COHEN: … Funding . . . Yes. Um, and it’s all the stuff.

    TRUMP: Yeah, I was thinking about that.

  3. Man, Ghouliani should apply for a job at the Rockettes – his tap-dancing is world class.

    Dickhead.

    OT but funny: Butt-baring N-word-swearing GOP Rep Jason Spencer has indeed resigned after Sacha Baron Cohen’s film of him showing his true self.

    But the funniest part (for me, anyway) is that poor little Jason is going to suffer consequences:

    Gee, maybe he might be interested in an ACA plan… :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

  4. There’s something about Giuliani that, despite the greater good of our country, makes me want to call up Mr. Flood and say, “You know, your guy is really not helpful to your cause.”

    But then that impulse passes and I say, “Carry on.”

  5. There isn’t enough tape in the galaxy to contain explanations of all the things Dotard “Doesn’t Understand”.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

45 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for kwoodgr Avatar for matthew1961 Avatar for cervantes Avatar for callmeeric Avatar for sniffit Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for midnight_rambler Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for candirue Avatar for dickweed Avatar for reverend_truth_v_wicked Avatar for hoagie Avatar for clauscph Avatar for gajake Avatar for docd Avatar for rickjones Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for brian512 Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for davidn Avatar for the_loan_arranger Avatar for jwbuho Avatar for haddockbranzini

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: