President’s lawyer under criminal investigation for months
New York — President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has been under criminal investigation for months by federal prosecutors who empaneled a grand jury to probe his business dealings beyond his law practice, according to a new court filing.
Prosecutors revealed the new details about the Cohen investigation after his lawyer appeared in court seeking to temporarily bar prosecutors from reviewing materials that FBI agents seized in a search this week of Cohen’s office, home and hotel room.
After three separate hearings on the matter Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood said she did not have enough information to issue any ruling on that request. She ordered the lawyers — including Cohen — to return to court Monday with more details, including a list of Cohen’s clients.
The Justice Department’s filing states that the recent searches resulted from a “months-long investigation into Cohen, and seek evidence of crimes, many of which have nothing to do with his work as an attorney, but rather relate to Cohen’s own business dealings.”
The government’s motion also reveals that prosecutors examined a safe-deposit box used by Cohen — carrying out the searches in part because they feared evidence might be destroyed if they had simply served him with a subpoena. Officials redacted a section in the document explaining why they thought they could not trust Cohen to turn over records willingly.
The filing, signed by acting U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami in the Southern District of New York, also says that while the investigation was referred by special counsel Robert Mueller III, the New York investigation “has proceeded independent” of Mueller’s work.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether any crimes were committed as part of an effort by Cohen to squelch damaging stories about Trump when Trump was a presidential candidate, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Among the materials sought by investigators in the search were records relating to payments made to adult-film star Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, two women who allegedly had sexual liaisons with Trump years ago.
Prosecutors also say that the president’s own statement that he did not know Cohen had paid Clifford may negate any claim of attorney-client privilege on that matter.