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Drudge Calls out Cohen: 'THE RAT'

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Following the release of audio tape apparently revealing a 2016 communication between then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, Trump supporters and critics have been arguing over its interpretation and importance.

Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, released the audio to CNN for broadcast Tuesday evening.

The clip appears to reveal Cohen and Trump discussing a planned payment to keep quiet a former Playboy model’s claims of a decade-old sexual affair with Trump long before he entered national politics.

Regardless of the true intent of either party recorded in the clip, many critics — including Trump himself — argue that Cohen should have never recorded private conversations with clients.

The conservative website Drudge Report linked to a U.K. Daily Mail article on the new developments with its own headline describing Cohen as “The Rat.”

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Trump joined those critical of Cohen’s conduct with a tweet early Wednesday morning.

“What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad!” he wrote. “Is this a first, never heard of it before?”

The president went on to question why the audio was “so abruptly terminated (cut)” even though he was “presumably saying positive things.” He also hinted that Cohen similarly recorded conversations with others.

Do you think Cohen has damaging information about Trump?

“I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped – can this be so? Too bad!” he wrote.

Trump’s current attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, had previously confirmed the tape’s existence, claiming it actually helped Trump make the case that he did not know about any payments to women in the final weeks of the campaign.

“Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance,” Giuliani told The New York Times last week.

Subsequent reports indicate prosecutors have at least a dozen tapes involving Cohen.

Trump also addressed the issue previously via Twitter with a post last week after the tape’s existence was first reported.

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“Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) – almost unheard of,” Trump wrote at the time.

He went on to mention Cohen indirectly.

“Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client – totally unheard of & perhaps illegal,” he wrote. “The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!”

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Chris Agee is an American journalist with more than 15 years of experience in a wide range of newsrooms.
Chris Agee is an American journalist with more than 15 years of experience in a variety of newsroom settings. After covering crime and other beats for newspapers and radio stations across the U.S., he served as managing editor at Western Journalism until 2017. He has also been a regular guest and guest host on several syndicated radio programs. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife and son.
Birthplace
Virginia
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Texas Press Association, Best News Writing - 2012
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Journalism - Averett University
Professional Memberships
Online News Association
Location
Arizona
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment




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