FBI raid on Trump’s lawyer sought records related to infamous Access Hollywood tape

THE FBI sought to collect all records relating to the infamous Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape when they raided his lawyer’s offices on Monday, it was reported last night.

The raid sent shock waves through Washington and New York and infuriated Mr Trump, who sees Mr Cohen – his long-serving lawyer and “fixer” – as akin to family. It is not clear what role, if any, Mr Cohen has played with the tape, in which Mr Trump is heard saying of women that he likes to “grab ‘em by the p----”.

The search warrant also sought evidence of whether Mr Cohen tried to suppress damaging information about Mr Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, The New York Times said.

The fact agents were seeking documents related to the tape reveals a new front in the investigation into Mr Cohen that is being led by the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan.

It comes as James Comey, the former FBI director, compared the US president to a “mob boss” in an interview ahead of the release of his new book.

Mr Comey was fired by Donald Trump last May and is promoting A Higher Loyalty, his book, which is being published on Tuesday. The sacking of the FBI chief is seen as one of Mr Trump’s most controversial decisions and led to questions over whether it amounted to obstruction of justice – one of the grounds for impeachment.

US network ABC News has released a trailer of the interview, in which the former intelligence chief is asked: “How strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president to a mob boss?” The interview, which airs in the US on Sunday evening, is “going to shock the president and his team”, a source told the political website Axios.

The source added that the revelations left people in the room “stunned”.

The firing of Mr Comey, who was leading the Russia probe at the time, is a key event being looked at by Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to take over control of the investigation. Since the raid on Mr Cohen’s office, Mr Trump has publicly speculated about firing Mr Mueller, saying: “I think it’s really a sad situation. Many people have said you should fire him [Mueller].”

Senior Republicans have warned the president against such a move, as it would raise further questions over whether Mr Trump was attempting to obstruct the Russia investigation.