A secret recording made by President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen and CNN’s Andrew Cuomo could mean the end of porn star Stormy Daniels’ lawsuits.
It could even bankrupt and silence the adult film star forever.
On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal released details on a secret audio recording of a conversation between Cohen and Cuomo from 2016 that proves Trump wasn’t involved in the legal deal with Daniels.
That’s could be a big problem for Daniels’ lawsuit against Trump.
Daniels has sued to make the deal between her and Cohen null-and-void, claiming it was actually a deal between her and the president. Because Cohen signed the deal, and it was never signed by Trump, Daniels’ lawyer claims the deal was never legally binding for the porn star. She has sued Trump to free herself from that deal.
Trump and his legal team, however, have repeatedly said he was unaware of the deal until “months later” and that Cohen acted on his own initiative. If a judge rules that this secret recording is proof that Cohen was telling the truth and was acting independently of Trump, it would be a serious blow to Daniels’ lawsuit.
In fact, it’s a blow that could potentially bankrupt Daniels. According to the terms of the so-called “hush deal” she signed with Cohen, Daniels would be penalized $1 million each time she spoke about Trump in public. Daniels has been the center of a media whirlwind for the last two years, and has been the subject of numerous television and radio interviews.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that would all add up to an incredible legal fine.
The secret recording, reportedly two-hours long, includes in-depth discussion involving Cohen’s $130,000 non-disclosure agreement with Daniels and the payment, and he insists he acted without Trump’s knowledge.
“I did it on my own,” Cohen said, according to The Wall Street Journal’s report.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Cohen, told The Journal that “Michael Cohen’s habit for many years to record conversations in lieu of taking notes. He had no intention of ever publicizing such tapes nor any intention to ever deceive anyone.” Cohen repeatedly insisted to Cuomo that their conversation wasn’t being recorded, a clear lie.
While it seems to exonerate Trump, Daniels’ lawsuit isn’t the only thing that takes a serious ding from the recording.
Not only could it bankrupt Daniels, but it could also land Cohen in jail.
“The report said it would be a campaign finance violation if Cohen made the payment to bolster the candidate’s chances of getting into office because it violates the election law by making in-kind contribution that exceeds the legal limit and was not disclosed to election regulators,” Fox News reported.
“It wasn’t for the campaign. It was for [Trump],” Cohen reportedly admitting in the recording.
According to Fox News, the recording “could potentially be used by the White House to distance Trump from the Daniels payment and damage Cohen’s character.”
In recent days, Cohen’s secret recordings and previous actions have been the subject to fiery criticism from Trump and his legal team. And damaging information on Daniels’ chosen legal representative has also surfaced.
Now it comes out that Cohen has been privately telling people that he really was acting independently, which Trump has said from the beginning.
How will the mainstream media react if the only person proven to be honest about the entire Stormy Daniels controversy was the president?
Will they issue an apology to their viewers and Trump? Or will they just pretend the entire thing didn’t happen?
FLASHBACK: Stormy Daniels’ lawyer in DEEP trouble?
— The Horn editorial team