FBI focus on Access Hollywood
Agents wanted any communications relating to recording
FBI officials who raided the office and residences of President Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen this week specifically sought his communications with Trump, an indication that investigators are scrutinising the role of the then-candidate in 2016.
In their search warrant, federal investigators asked Cohen to turn over any communications the two men had about a 2005 Access Hollywood tape that captured Trump boasting about grabbing women’s body parts, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The recording surfaced weeks before the 2016 election. Investigators also sought any communications Cohen had with Trump and campaign aides about “potential sources of negative publicity” in the lead-up to the election, the person said.
The warrant indicates that federal prosecutors may be examining interactions Trump might have had with his longtime lawyer about tamping down unflattering stories as he sought to win the White House. At the time, Cohen was a top lawyer at the Trump Organisation and not formally affiliated with the campaign.
The interest in Cohen’s communications with Trump suggests that the investigation is delving into Trump’s actions, legal experts said.
“If they’re specifically going after communications between the President and Cohen, it confirms the investigation does relate to the President in some way,” said Randall Eliason, who teaches white-collar criminal law at George Washington University Law School.
The investigation of Cohen, which was referred by special counsel Robert Mueller to the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, appears to be focused in part on the lawyer’s involvement with payments made to two women who claim to have had affairs with Trump — adult-film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both said they slept with Trump while he was married.
Daniels got US$130,000 ($176,565) from Cohen in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement concerning her relationship with Trump.
The New York Times, which first reported the news about the two women, said the search warrant for the FBI raids also sought information about McDougal, who was paid US$150,000 by the parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid, which then withheld a story about her relationship with Trump.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Cohen engaged in bank fraud, wire fraud and violations of campaign finance law. It is unclear what role, if any, Cohen played in the Access Hollywood recording. Investigators’ interest in Cohen’s records related to that incident was first reported by the New York Times.
In the tape, Trump is heard bragging in vulgar terms about groping and kissing women without their consent.