*By Alisha Haridasani* When he released the tapes of President Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, Cohen’s lawyer not only caused a media firestorm, but he may have also pulled back the curtain on Trump's systematic tactics to quiet women from his past. “These were two guys talking the same way you and I might talk about what to order off the Chinese menu,” said Republican political strategist Rick Wilson on Cheddar Wednesday. "I think what this speaks to is something that Americans should really focus onーthat Donald Trump had a system in place inside of his organization that was devised and directed to deal with the women with whom he had various affairs.” The recording was seized by the FBI in April when officers raided Cohen’s office. A federal investigation is underway, probing whether Trump and Cohen violated campaign finance laws and offered hush money to womenーamong them, adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougalーwho claimed they had affairs with Trump. Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis handed the tape to CNN’s Chris Cuomo who then played it live on-air late Tuesday. In the secret conversationーrecorded two months before the 2016 electionーCohen says, “I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David.” Cohen is likely referring to David Pecker, head of American Media, which publishes the National Enquirer. The company paid McDougal for her story about her rumored affair with the president but never published it, effectively gagging McDougal. Trump can then be heard saying the word “cash” but because of the muddled audio, it is unclear what precedes it. Trump's new attorney Rudy Giuliani claims Trump said "*don't* pay with cash," sticking with his previous claims that Trump wanted everything on paper. “That wasn’t a heated, excitable conversation,” said Wilson. “We should be shocked with how normal they found it.” Trump responded to the release of the tape by trying to undermine Cohen's professionalism. "What kind of lawyer would tape a client?" he [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1022097879253635072) on Wednesday. "Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things?" The president has denied having the affairーor any knowledge of the payments. The recording seems to undermine that assertion. "Trump wasn't just this naive guy who mysteriously was beset with women trying to get money from him," said Wilson. "He was a guy who went out, had a lot of these affairs, had a lot of these relationships, and then turned around and used his power, money, and influence to silence them." The tapes also signify the danger Cohen poses to the White House. For decades, he was Trump's main "fixer" and, presumably, has unlimited knowledge of Trump's past business, political, and personal dealings. For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rick-wilson-weighs-in-on-the-contents-of-the-secret-cohen-trump-recording).

Share:
More In Politics
Why Putin Seems So Focused on Invading Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin openly invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine on Thursday following weeks of overtures and discussions on keeping an incursion from happening. David Salvo, the deputy director for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar to go into the Russian leader's motivations. "What I'm sure he understands is that his invasion of Ukraine in 2014 probably ended the discussion of Ukraine joining NATO, even if publicly we won't admit that, that's just the reality. And I'm sure that President Putin understands that," he said, noting that Putin could be using the taking of Ukraine territory as leverage to gain more security concessions from the West.
U.S. Warns Banks to Prepare for Potential Cyberattacks
Following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, the U.S. is warning businesses and major banks to brace themselves for cyberattacks. Lester Munson, a senior fellow at the National Security Institute, joined Cheddar News to break down what this means for financial institutions “So we need to be concerned about not just intentional Russian hacks against American entities but also what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Those things can impact us as well," he said
What Investors Could Prepare for Amid Russian Invasion of Ukraine
After weeks of talks and posturing in hopes of staving off an attack, Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, an incident that has already impacted the global economy, including the U.S.. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis for Morning Consult, joined Cheddar’s Closing Bell to break down what investors might do to prepare themselves as the crisis continues. "I think there are a few things that we have our eye on over at Morning Consult that could cause the situation to become a bit more severe or unstable as far as market outcomes would be concerned," McMann said. "One of those things would be if the U.S. and the EU kind of moved in concerted fashion to block Russia from the SWIFT transaction system. So, I would say that's one thing that would be worth keeping an eye on."
Load More