Judge sets an endpoint for review of seized Cohen files
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday gave attorneys for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, a little more than two weeks to finish reviewing material seized from his office and residences to determine what is protected by attorney-client privilege.
The June 15 deadline was set during a hearing in Manhattan that focused on the status of these seized materials and featured sparring between Cohen’s attorneys and Michael Avenatti, an attorney for Stormy Daniels, an adult-film actress to whom Cohen paid $130,000 after she alleged she had an affair with Trump.
Avenatti had sought to join the case but withdrew his motion after U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood warned that Avenatti would have to end his “publicity tour” if she granted him standing.
Avenatti did not elaborate on his decision in his motion to withdraw, noting that he could refile it “if necessary, at a later time,” depending on what happens with Daniels’ motion to intervene in the case. That motion has been held pending discussions between Avenatti and federal officials, according to court records.
Avenatti pointed to that motion, rather than the judge’s skepticism Wednesday, in explaining why he suddenly withdrew. “It is no longer necessary in light of the motion to intervene, which may not be necessary, being delayed,” Avenatti wrote in an email. “We will refile it when and if the motion is taken up.”
Cohen, who attended the hearing but did not speak, is being investigated for possible bank and wire fraud and campaign finance violations as part of a probe looking at his efforts to suppress damaging stories about Trump — such as Daniels’ claims of a sexual encounter with him years earlier — just before the 2016 presidential election.
As part of the probe, federal agents seized Cohen’s records and documents on April 9, prompting a legal fight over who would get access to the materials and when. Cohen and Trump both argued that their attorneys should get to review the materials to see what is privileged before investigators get them. Wood appointed Barbara Jones, a former federal judge, as special master to go over the documents before they are turned over to federal prosecutors.
Jones wrote in a filing submitted Tuesday night that after her reviews so far, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has been given access to more than 292,000 items, and more than 1 million items “not designated privileged or highly personal” were expected to be released Wednesday.
Attorneys for Cohen and Trump had said many of the seized documents and records could be protected by attorney-client privilege. Jones noted that so far, only 252 items had been flagged as privileged by attorneys for Trump or Cohen, and she said she expected to make a recommendation about those materials by Monday.
Jones also reported having received additional electronic data over the past two weeks, including “data from a video recorder, two computers, and mobile storage devices” that “includes various video, electronic communications and documents as well as data typically associated with computer usage.”
A significant amount of material still needs to be reviewed. In court Tuesday, Todd Harrison, an attorney for Cohen, said his team had received 3.7 million files, about 1.3 million of which had already been turned over to Jones.