Leaked Donald Trump tapes dredges up 1989 spousal rape accusation

A covertly recorded audio tape of now-President Donald Trump talking with his lawyer about a payout to an alleged mistress has been made public.

But in the meeting between then-candidate Trump and Michael Cohen in September 2016, another legal issue is raised beforehand.

Trump was concerned the media would get hold of the records from his acrimonious divorce from his first wife Ivana in 1992.

"We got served from the New York Times… to unseal the divorce papers with Ivana," Cohen is heard saying in a tape broadcast by CNN.

"We're fighting it. (Marc) Kasowitz is going to…"

Trump cut off Cohen.

"They should never be able to get that," Trump said.

"You have a woman that doesn't want this."

It is not known which woman Trump is referring to, possibly his ex-wife Ivana or his current wife Melania.

The New York Times and Gannett newspapers’ 2016 bid to make Trump's divorce papers public was unsuccessful.

The lawsuit was knocked back by a New York court, ensuring the reasons behind the failure of Trump's first marriage remain unknown.

What is indisputable however, is that in a sworn deposition in 1989, Ivana Trump accused her estranged husband of raping her.

Ms Trump detailed her husband, enraged by a painful operation to remove a bald spot, violently assaulting and raping her.

Ms Trump alleged the now-president ripped fistfuls of hair from her scalp during the attack.

In 1993 she retracted the use of the word "rape".

"On one occasion during 1989, Mr. Trump and I had marital relations in which he behaved very differently toward me than he had during our marriage.

"As a woman, I felt violated, as the love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent. I referred to this as a 'rape', but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense."

When the story threatened to resurface in January 2016, Cohen vehemently denied it to The Daily Beast.

"You're talking about the front-runner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as private individual who never raped anybody," Cohen said.

"And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse."

The exemption for marital rape was struck down in New York in 1984, making Cohen's claim incorrect.

The New York Times reported in 1990 that a divorce was granted between the Trumps because of his "cruel and inhuman treatment".

Ivana Trump is bound by a gag order, which prevents her from speaking about her marriage to him without his permission.

His second wife, Marla Maples, is also subject to a confidentiality agreement.

Court filings show there are another 11 tapes surreptitiously recorded by Cohen during meetings with Trump.

All 12 recordings were obtained by the FBI when they raided Cohen's office, home and hotel room earlier this year.

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