Jury Hears Tape of Trump and Cohen Discussing Hush-Money Deal

Two voices reverberated in the courtroom. The first was loud, deep and unctuous, the second was casual — until money came up. They were discussing a deal made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence a woman who claimed to have had an extramarital affair with the Republican candidate.

The first voice on the recording belonged to Michael D. Cohen, a former personal lawyer and fixer for Donald J. Trump. The second was the candidate himself, Mr. Trump, who on Thursday sat mutely as jurors heard his words.

The Manhattan district attorney's office used the tape, surreptitiously made by Mr. Cohen, to bring the trial's two main characters together for the first time. The recording vividly captured how Mr. Cohen reported details of a key transaction to his then boss.

On it, Mr. Cohen discusses a hush-money deal that the parent company of The National Enquirer made on Mr. Trump's behalf with the former Playboy model Karen McDougal, as well as the question of how to deal with "the financing" — that is, repaying — the supermarket tabloid's publisher, David Pecker.

"What financing?" Mr. Trump asked, suddenly snapping to attention. He then directed Mr. Cohen to "pay with cash." (Mr. Pecker, the jurors already know, was never repaid.)

The existence of the recording, made by Mr. Cohen about two months before the election, was previously known. But it demonstrated for the jury the direct involvement of the future president in what prosecutors have said was a conspiracy to help him get elected.

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