Newly released audio recordings reveal longtime Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen brandishing profane legal threats to a reporter who was about to publish an explosive story about the then-presidential candidate.
‘So I’m warning you, tread very f***ing lightly because what I’m going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting,’ Cohen exploded in the recorded phone call.
His threatening comments came out during the campaign, but on Thursday NPR published audio of the tense call for the first time and published the full tirade.
The move comes after it was revealed in court this week that Cohen has other recordings under ‘lock and key’ – and after porn star Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti has claimed what he calls ‘Trump tapes’ while have more damaging information.
Newly released audio recordings reveal longtime Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen brandishing profane legal threats against a reporter
The prolonged call came as Daily Beast reporter Tim Mak was seeking comment and context for a story he was doing a claim made by Ivanka Trump during divorce proceedings against the future president.
Trump’s former wife used the word ‘rape’ in a deposition to describe what happened after a fight between the couple, also saying she felt ‘violated.’ She later backed off the language in a statement that accompanied the release of a book about the incident where she said: ‘I referred to this as a ‘rape,’ but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.’
The audio recording reveals Cohen pushing hard to pressure the reporter from running the story.
‘I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we’re in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don’t have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know,’ Cohen warns him.
‘So I’m warning you, tread very f***ing lightly because what I’m going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting’ Cohen threatened on tape
‘So I’m warning you, tread very f***ing lightly because what I’m going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting. Do you understand me? Don’t think you can hide behind your pen because it’s not going to happen,’ he continued. ‘I’m more than happy to discuss it with your attorney and with your legal counsel because motherf***** you’re going to need it.’
The reporter repeatedly says he is giving Cohen an ‘opportunity’ to comment.
‘I know exactly who you are and I know exactly what you do,’ Cohen responds.
‘You write a story that has Mr. Trump’s name in it, with the word ‘rape,’ and I’m going to mess your life for as long as you’re on this frickin’ plane. I”m gonna turn around, you’re going to have judgments against you, so much money, you’ll never know how to get out from underneath it.’
Cohen repeatedly invokes other suits, including one he filed against Univision.
‘I think you should go ahead and you should write the story that you plan on writing. I think you should do it. Because I think you’re an idiot. And I think your paper’s a joke, and it’s going to be my absolute pleasure to serve you with a $500 million lawsuit, like I told [you] I did it to,’ he said.
Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti claims Cohen pressured his Client into signing an NDA
Avenatti has said there are ‘Trump Tapes’ in Cohen’s possession and is demanding their release
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, who reached a nondisclosure agreement with Cohen that also named Trump using an alias, accusing him of making ‘threats’ against his client.
“In October of 2016, Michael Cohen made threats against my client Stormy Daniels, as it related to pressuring her to enter into the NDA and accept the $130,000 payment,” Avenatti told NPR.
Avenatti has previously claimed Cohen used ‘ intimidation and coercive tactics’ to get Daniels to sign a false statement denying she had an affair with Trump.
Her NDA states that after arbitration she can be slapped with $1 million per infraction of the ‘hush’ agreement.
While Cohen’s tenor may appear threatening, he also displays fierce loyalty to Trump and his reputation during his election run. Trump on Thursday granted a pardon to conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza, raising speculation that he could be signaling to allies like Cohen who are facing pressures to remain loyal.
‘There is nothing reasonable about you wanting to write a story about somebody’s usage of the word ‘rape,’ when she’s talking [about how] she didn’t feel emotionally satisfied,’ Cohen told the reporter.
Cohen was trying to tamp down a negative story about Donald Trump when he was running for president
‘Though there’s many literal senses to the word, if you distort it, and you put Mr. Trump’s name there onto it, rest assured, you will suffer the consequences. So you do whatever you want. You want to ruin your life at the age of 20? You do that, and I’ll be happy to serve it right up to you,’ he said.
‘You’re talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody. And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse,’ he said.
‘It is true. You cannot rape your spouse. And there’s very clear case law,’ Cohen said, although the statement was not accurate, the state’s ‘marital rape’ exception already having been tossed out by a court years before the alleged incident.