This is an important development for at least two major reasons.
First, it shows Trump himself had direct knowledge of secret payments, which could then mean that he violated both federal campaign finance laws and federal criminal banking statutes. The fact that Trump's voice can be heard on the tape would destroy any claim that Trump did not know about the payments. One might also note here that Richard Nixon's voice on damning tapes was ultimately what destroyed his presidency.
Second, it demonstrates that Cohen had taped recordings of Trump behind the scenes. These were rumored to exist but now we know they do. So the big question is -- what other tapes did Cohen have that were seized and what's on them?
Unrelated to the above, TMZ broke the story late yesterday afternoon (link here) that Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who leads the criminal investigation into Trump and his circle, has subpoenaed the Manhattan Madam Kristin Davis. Davis is closely associated with Roger Stone, a long-time Trump associate who is also being investigated by Mueller and many believe will soon be criminally charged.
No news yet as to what Mueller is looking for, but this certainly is an interesting development. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Speak up!