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AFP
New York
US President Donald Trump was secretly taped by his longtime lawyer discussing payments to a former Playboy model, with whom he allegedly had an affair, and the recording is in FBI hands, The New York Times reported Friday.
The lawyer, Michael Cohen -- who no longer represents Trump -- is being investigated over payments made to women to hush up embarrassing news stories about the now commander-in-chief ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether such payments violated campaign finance laws, and whether Cohen committed other financial crimes. He has not yet been arrested or charged.
The FBI seized the recording earlier this year during a raid on Cohen's office, The New York Times said in a bombshell revelation, quoting lawyers and others familiar with the recording.
The report will fuel speculation about how much damage Cohen -- who has signalled a potential willingness to cooperate with prosecutors against the president in order to avoid arrest -- could cause for Trump.
Trump's current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed the veracity of the recording to the Times, but added that the payment was never made, and said the Republican president had not been party to any wrongdoing.
