I had hoped this question would be among the very first asked of Michael Cohen this morning. But already, Democrats are getting too far into the weeds too early. There is still much very basic procedural information to learn, particularly, does Cohen have tapes of conversations he had with Trump that would incriminate him?
As I typed this, Republican Rep. Mark Meadows made the first allusion to Cohen’s practice of taping his conversations. This strangely parallels the line of questioning by Republican Sen. Fred Thompson of Alexander Butterfield in the Watergate hearings, when he basically stumbled into the revelation that would ultimately destroy the Nixon presidency — that there were recordings of the president that could be subpoenaed to show he committed crimes.
Here is that moment —
Before the attention of the country is lost today to distraction and detail, and the opportunity is lost with the witness, Democrats must ascertain in public forum what recordings Cohen has made of Trump, his family, members of the Trump Organization, and any members of the Trump campaign. These should be discoverable by ruling of the Supreme Court in U.S. v Nixon. I would even urge those here whose Member serves on this committee to call their representatives and ask that this question be asked.