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| Michael Cohen: FBI raids office of Trump's personal lawyer | Michael Cohen: FBI raids office of Trump's personal lawyer |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| FBI agents raided the office of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal attorney of Donald Trump, on Monday and seized records including communications between Cohen and Trump, Cohen’s lawyer said in a statement. | FBI agents raided the office of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal attorney of Donald Trump, on Monday and seized records including communications between Cohen and Trump, Cohen’s lawyer said in a statement. |
| Also seized were documents relating to a $130,000 payment Cohen has admitted making to the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels, according to the New York Times, which first reported the raid. Daniels is in a protracted legal battle with Trump to tell the story of their alleged relationship. | Also seized were documents relating to a $130,000 payment Cohen has admitted making to the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels, according to the New York Times, which first reported the raid. Daniels is in a protracted legal battle with Trump to tell the story of their alleged relationship. |
| A search warrant for the raid was obtained by federal prosecutors in New York after a referral by the special counsel Robert Mueller, said Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, in a statement. Agents also raided a home and hotel room used by Cohen, the Wall Street Journal reported. | A search warrant for the raid was obtained by federal prosecutors in New York after a referral by the special counsel Robert Mueller, said Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, in a statement. Agents also raided a home and hotel room used by Cohen, the Wall Street Journal reported. |
| Trump called the raid “an attack on our country”. | |
| “It’s a disgraceful situation,” he told reporters before a military leadership meeting. “I have this witch-hunt constantly going on.” | |
| Ryan’s statement said: “Today the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients.” He did not name Trump. | |
| A message left Monday afternoon at Ryan’s firm was not returned. | A message left Monday afternoon at Ryan’s firm was not returned. |
| Mueller’s referral may indicate his team’s inquiry uncovered evidence of potential crimes falling outside the focus of their investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Or the referral may have been made simply because the New York prosecutors were better positioned to carry out the raid, explained Neal Katyal, a supreme court lawyer who wrote the special counsel regulations, on Twitter. | Mueller’s referral may indicate his team’s inquiry uncovered evidence of potential crimes falling outside the focus of their investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Or the referral may have been made simply because the New York prosecutors were better positioned to carry out the raid, explained Neal Katyal, a supreme court lawyer who wrote the special counsel regulations, on Twitter. |
| The recommendation for prosecutors in Manhattan to handle the raid – as opposed to Mueller – was made by the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel investigation, Bloomberg reported. Rosenstein has occasionally attracted Trump’s ire for his handling of the investigation. | The recommendation for prosecutors in Manhattan to handle the raid – as opposed to Mueller – was made by the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel investigation, Bloomberg reported. Rosenstein has occasionally attracted Trump’s ire for his handling of the investigation. |
| The president was following news coverage of the raid closely, CNN reported. Cohen is closer to Trump’s inner circle than anyone previously to have such a sharp brush prosecutors, although Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been interviewed by Mueller’s team, and Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, has been interviewed by congressional investigators. | The president was following news coverage of the raid closely, CNN reported. Cohen is closer to Trump’s inner circle than anyone previously to have such a sharp brush prosecutors, although Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been interviewed by Mueller’s team, and Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, has been interviewed by congressional investigators. |
| Cohen said the payment to Daniels was “facilitated” by him personally and was not made on behalf of the Trump campaign. A watchdog group has brought a lawsuit alleging that the payment to Daniels was in fact an illegal campaign contribution. | Cohen said the payment to Daniels was “facilitated” by him personally and was not made on behalf of the Trump campaign. A watchdog group has brought a lawsuit alleging that the payment to Daniels was in fact an illegal campaign contribution. |
| “The decision by the US attorney’s office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” said Ryan in his statement. He said Cohen had cooperated fully with government prosecutors. | “The decision by the US attorney’s office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” said Ryan in his statement. He said Cohen had cooperated fully with government prosecutors. |
| Prosecutors connected with Mueller have previously obtained email correspondence and other documents tied to Cohen, who has worked closely with Trump for more than a decade on particularly sensitive matters. | Prosecutors connected with Mueller have previously obtained email correspondence and other documents tied to Cohen, who has worked closely with Trump for more than a decade on particularly sensitive matters. |
| Those matters included Trump’s alleged relationship with Daniels, in which a large payment was made on the eve of the 2016 election as she was preparing to go public with her story of an affair with Trump; and efforts to build a Trump tower in Moscow. | Those matters included Trump’s alleged relationship with Daniels, in which a large payment was made on the eve of the 2016 election as she was preparing to go public with her story of an affair with Trump; and efforts to build a Trump tower in Moscow. |
| Cohen was interviewed privately in October 2017 by members of the House intelligence committee, which has since shuttered its investigation of the Russia affair. | Cohen was interviewed privately in October 2017 by members of the House intelligence committee, which has since shuttered its investigation of the Russia affair. |
| The FBI conducted a pre-dawn raid of the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s Virginia home in July 2017. Manafort has been charged with multiple crimes including money laundering and bank fraud, to which he has pleaded not guilty. | The FBI conducted a pre-dawn raid of the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s Virginia home in July 2017. Manafort has been charged with multiple crimes including money laundering and bank fraud, to which he has pleaded not guilty. |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| FBI | FBI |
| Stormy Daniels | Stormy Daniels |
| Robert Mueller | Robert Mueller |
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