The FBI has raided the office of President Donald Trump‘s attorney, Michael Cohen.
The New York Times reports that the search was carried out in Cohen’s Manhattan office on Monday.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Their source said the agency seized documents pertaining to the ongoing scandal involving Trump and alleged mistress Stormy Daniels. Cohen said he handled payments made to the adult film actress.
TMZ‘s source claims that the raid was also done to seize documents related the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. However, The Times claims that the search was not done as part of the Russian investigation, and it instead “likely resulted from information [special counsel Robert Mueller] had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York.”
Mueller is spearheading the Russia investigation and reportedly personally pushed for this search warrant to be approved, according to Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan.
“Today the U.S. 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,” Ryan told the Times. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”
In addition to the Daniels scandal, officials are said to be looking into numerous other aspects of Cohen’s dealings. Emails, tax documents and business records were all sought after in the search.
Ryan says that Cohen complied with all requests to turn over information.
Cohen’s troubles all link back the the alleged Daniels affair. In February, he claimed he personally sent payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in 2016, and Trump was not personally involved in the transaction.
“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly,” Mr. Cohen said in a statement to The Times. “The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.”
Daniels’ attorney, Keith Davidson, told CNN at the time that Cohen’s claim was “in complete harmony with what he informed me of at the time of the transaction.”
The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Cohen created a private LLC to pay Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election, following an alleged July 2006 encounter with Trump. Trump “vehemently denies” all claims of an affair.
Trump has not commented on the FBI’s raid on Cohen’s office as of press time.
