Trump: Raid on his lawyer abuses attorney-client privilege
WASHINGTON — The federal agents who raided the office of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, were looking for records about payments to a former Playboy playmate and to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who both claim to have had affairs with Trump.
That’s according to a report Tuesday from The New York Times. The newspaper, citing several people briefed on the investigation, reported that FBI agents were looking for records of payments to ex-Playmate Karen McDougal and also information related to the publisher of The National Enquirer.
McDougal has said she carried on an affair with Trump in 2006 after the birth of his son. The Enquirer’s publisher, American Media Inc., paid McDougal $150,000 but never published her story. AMI has said she was paid to become a fitness columnist.
AP has confirmed agents on Monday also seized records related to a $130,000 payment made to Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006.
The raid prompted a new blast Tuesday from the president, who tweeted that “Attorney-client privilege is dead!” A furious Trump, who in the past month has escalated his attacks on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, said Monday from the White House that it was a “disgrace” that the FBI “broke into” his lawyer’s office. He called Mueller’s investigation “an attack on our country,” prompting new speculation that he might seek the removal of the Justice Department’s special counsel. The raid was overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and was based in part on a referral from Mueller, said Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan.
“The decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” Ryan said in a statement. “It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients.”
The raid creates a new legal headache for Trump as he and his attorneys weigh whether to agree to an interview with Mueller’s team, which in addition to investigating potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign is also examining whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice. And the law enforcement action will almost certainly amplify the public scrutiny on the payment to Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006. The payment was made just days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump told reporters last week that he did not know about it.
Search warrants are a fairly standard, though aggressive, law enforcement tool and are often sought in cases where authorities are concerned someone may hide or withhold evidence. To obtain one, agents must convince a judge they have probable cause of criminal activity and they believe they’ll find evidence of wrongdoing in a search. A warrant requires high-level approval within the Justice Department, and agency guidelines impose additional hurdles when the search target is an attorney.
Authorities working with Mueller chose a similar tactic last summer when they raided the home of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was subsequently indicted. In this case, Mueller opted to refer the matter to federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Besides Cohen’s office, agents also searched a hotel room where he’s been staying while his home is under renovation. Under Justice Department regulations, Mueller must consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein when his investigators uncover new evidence that may fall outside his original mandate. Rosenstein then will determine whether to allow Mueller to proceed or to assign the matter to another U.S. attorney or another part of the Justice Department.
A spokesman for Mueller’s office did not immediately return a call seeking comment. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the U.S. Attorney’s Office also had no comment.