Trump lashes ex-lawyer, calling taping client 'perhaps illegal'

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US President Donald Trump lashed out at his former lawyer on Saturday, saying Michael Cohen may have acted illegally in secretly taping their discussion about a payment to hush up an alleged affair with a Playboy model.

Trump's early-morning tweet was his first direct reaction to a New York Times report Friday that the FBI had seized the recording during an April raid on Cohen's office amid an investigation of possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia.

Cohen has not yet been arrested or charged with any crime, but his cooperation with the government could prove vital to prosecutors -- a scenario that could be made more likely by an open split with Trump.

Michael Cohen arrived in a hotel in New York, US on May 21, 2018. /Reuters Photo

While Cohen was once quoted as saying he would "take a bullet" for the president, Trump's tweet and the sharp reply from Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis could signal that the bond between the two has been damaged if not broken.

"Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer's office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," Trump tweeted Saturday.

"Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal.

"The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!"

Screenshot of Trump's tweet.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal claims she had an affair with Trump after they met in 2006, shortly after Trump's wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's current personal attorney, confirmed to the Times that the Cohen tape existed, but said it showed the president had done nothing wrong. He called it "exculpatory" because it showed Trump had no advance knowledge of a possible payment.

Regarding Trump's claim of illegality, New York state law permits the recording of a phone call or an in-person conversation as long as one party consents, according to attorney John B. Harris, who authored an article on the subject for the New York Legal Ethics Reporter.

President Trump spoke at the White House to US Congress members on July 17, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Yet "it remains murky whether and when a New York lawyer can ethically tape without advance disclosure," Harris said.

Stephen Gillers, an authority of legal ethics and professor at New York University School of Law, told The American Lawyer in April that such recordings are "an issue on which the national profession has not come to a common agreement," but he argued that law firms should forbid the practice except in very narrow circumstances.

The FBI raided Cohen's home and office on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow.

Michael Cohen left federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York on April 16, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Justice Department says Cohen has been under investigation for months for criminal conduct largely centered on his personal business dealings.

Prosecutors are apparently interested in payments he made on Trump's behalf to porn actress Stormy Daniels, and other business dealings related to Trump.

Daniels and McDougal allege they had affairs with Trump around the same time, in 2006.

Giuliani says Trump repaid lawyer for porn star 'hush money'

Stormy Daniels seen on May 23, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. /VCG Photo

Cohen, who became Trump's personal lawyer in 2007, paid 130,000 US dollars to Daniels -- real name, Stephanie Clifford -- shortly before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.

Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told MSNBC Saturday the Cohen recording put Trump in an uncomfortable legal position because it was evidence he may have broken campaign finance law.

"If Donald Trump knew that Michael Cohen was going to be making payments on his behalf, or others were going to be making payments on his behalf, in order to influence the 2016 election, that may, in fact, constitute evidence of direct campaign finance violations which can be criminal in nature," he said.

(Cover: President Donald Trump waited for reporters to leave the room after he spoke with US Congress members on his summit with Russian President Putin on July 17, 2018, at the White House, Washington DC. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): AFP