Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump‘s lawyer, appeared on Fox News Tuesday night to defend his client after the release of a tape recording of Trump and Michael Cohen discussing a payment to keep a Playboy model silent about an alleged affair.

In the recording, from September 2016, Cohen and Trump discuss the payment that would catch-and-kill a story about Karen McDougal‘s alleged affair with Trump.

“The president is not an idiot,” Giuliani declared on Laura Ingraham‘s show after the recording aired on CNN.

The president’s lawyer contended that while the tape is fuzzy, it’s “clear” that Trump said “don’t pay with cash,” despite Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis‘ claims that Trump instructed Cohen to pay with cash.

“There’s no way the president’s going to be talking about setting up a corporation, and then using cash, unless you’re a complete idiot,” Giuliani said. “And the president’s not an idiot.”

“The point is the president wanted the transaction to be memorialized,” he added.

Giuliani also revealed in his interview that he learned the tape was going to be released Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Watch above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]

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