CNN played a tape Tuesday night of President Trump discussing with his attorney a plan to buy the rights to a Playboy model’s claims of having had an affair with him.

According to the October 2016 audio recording played on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” attorney Michael Cohen and the future president discussed setting up a company to buy the rights to Karen McDougal’s story from American Media, the corporation that owns the National Enquirer.

“I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David,” Mr. Cohen says in the recording, probably referring to American Media chief David Pecker.

The tape confirms that Mr. Trump had contemporaneous knowledge of plans to de facto buy Ms. McDougal’s silence.

CNN reported that it had acquired the tape from Lanny Davis, one of Mr. Cohen’s lawyers.

“No payment was ever made from Trump, Rudy Giuliani, the President’s attorney, has said. Giuliani has previously acknowledged that the recorded discussion related to the buying the story rights,” CNN wrote.

Federal prosecutors have said in court filings that 12 audio recordings were obtained when the FBI raided Mr. Cohen’s home and offices earlier this year.

Besides the McDougal payment, Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen discuss on the tape a request by The New York Times to unseal records from the divorce between Mr. Trump and his first wife, Ivana.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.