Dem lawmaker torches Trump in fiery editorial: ‘Tapes don’t lie, even if the president does’

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) slammed President Trump in a fiery editorial following the release of a recorded conversation between Trump and his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, about a payment tied to an ex-Playboy model.

“As a former prosecutor, I want to be clear: We should be outraged that President Donald Trump might have committed a felony by knowingly allowing American Media Inc. to pay $150,000 to silence Karen McDougal,” the California Democrat said in the editorial published on USA Today on Thursday. 

Earlier this week, CNN aired an audio recording of a conversation between Trump and Cohen, about a payment to McDougal, a former Playboy model who alleged she had an affair with Trump.

The recording confirmed earlier reports that Trump and Cohen discussed buying the rights to the story of McDougal and Trump’s alleged affair. McDougal sold her story to AMI, which is the publisher of the National Enquirer. The discussion took place in September 2016, in the lead-up to the presidential election.

Lieu said the payment by AMI constituted an “in-kind contribution” that benefited Trump’s presidential campaign. Lieu said that’s why he teamed up with Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) in March and called on the FBI to investigate those payments.

“Campaign-finance laws prohibit a federal campaign from accepting contributions above $2,700 during the general election,” Lieu said, while adding that willfully violating this law, “when the contribution exceeds $25,000,” constitutes as a felony.

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“If Trump’s current attorney Rudy Giuliani is to be believed when he said there was no payment ever made by Trump to AMI, the president is in deep trouble,” the Democratic congressman continued. “That would mean Trump knowingly accepted an in-kind campaign contribution that is more than 55 times above the federal limit. That is a felony.” 

Lieu went on to say that a debate about whether Trump suggested paying for the story in cash “misses the point.”

“The rights for McDougal’s story were never purchased, but Trump and his associates appear to demonstrate in the taped conversation that they believe having it buried by AMI is beneficial to Trump,” Lieu said. “A story like McDougal’s or Stephanie Clifford’s (Stormy Daniels) becoming public could have swayed the election against Trump’s campaign. It appears Trump and his associates were well aware of that risk.”

“Though Trump might have committed or conspired to commit a felony, it’s ultimately up to our country’s law enforcement to prosecute,” Lieu continued. “Trump and his associates have repeatedly lied to the American public to defend themselves.”

“What Trump misses is this: Tapes don’t lie, even if the president does,” Lieu added.