RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Michel Temer late Wednesday denied a report that he endorsed the idea of bribing a now jailed former congressman to keep him quiet.

The allegation made in a Globo News report represents a potentially significant blow for Temer, whose administration has lurched from one crisis to another since he took office just over a year ago.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the president's office said Temer never solicited payments to keep former Speaker of the House Eduardo Cunha silent.

Cunha led the impeachment fight that removed Dilma Rousseff from the presidency last year and put Temer, then the vice president, into power. Cunha was later imprisoned on a 15-year sentence for corruption.

The Globo report said Temer was recorded in March endorsing the payment of a bribe to Cunha. Globo did not release the recording.