Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen says in tapes he helped Falwell Jr. handle racy photos: report

By Brooke Seipel and Zack Budryk - 05/07/19 05:34 PM EDT
 

President TrumpDonald John Trump5 things to know about Boris Johnson Conservatives erupt in outrage against budget deal Trump says Omar will help him win Minnesota MORE's former personal attorney Michael CohenMichael Dean CohenWill Democrats be up to the task of publicly interviewing Mueller? A question for Robert Mueller Key numbers to know for Mueller's testimony MORE claims to have helped Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. stop racy "personal" photos from leaking ahead of Falwell's endorsement of Trump in 2016, according to a new Reuters report.

Falwell, who has become one of Trump's most outspoken evangelical supporters, approached Cohen in 2015 after someone obtained photos that would normally be kept "between husband and wife," Cohen said in a taped conversation reviewed by Reuters.

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According to the report, Cohen later helped persuade Falwell to endorse Trump in the 2016 presidential election, just before the Iowa caucuses began. 

The former "fixer," who reported to prison this week to serve a three-year sentence for financial crimes and lying to Congress, discussed the Falwell photo incident in a conversation with comedian Tom Arnold, who secretly taped the conversation, according to Reuters. 

The person in possession of the photos destroyed them after Cohen flew to Florida to meet with that person's attorney and told him his client, who was demanding money, was committing a crime, according to Reuters.
 
"I actually have one of the photos,” Cohen told Arnold without offering any further detail. “It’s terrible.” 
 
Falwell would go on to become one of Trump's most vocal evangelical backers, endorsing an additional two years for Trump's presidency recently. However, Cohen's assistance was unrelated to the endorsement, according to Reuters, which cited a source familiar with Cohen's thinking. 
 
Liberty University did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Updated at 6:05 p.m.

Tags Michael Cohen Donald Trump