Federal prosecutors secured the search warrants to seize records in reference to adult film star payoff

Today, the FBI raided the Manhattan office and home of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen to seize records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and other matters involving Donald Trump. Federal prosecutors secured a warrant on the Trump matter after receiving a referral from Special Counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.

The New York Times said that the raid on Michael Cohen’s office was confirmed by Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” While the search is not thought to be connected to the Mueller investigation, it is thought that the warrant was secured using information that Mueller uncovered in his investigation into possible Russian meddling in the Trump presidential win.

Stephen Ryan, A Lawyer For Trump Attorney Michael Cohen Issued A Statement About The Raid

Stephen Ryan, the lawyer for Michael Cohen, released a statement to the public confirming that several search warrants had been carried out concerning the Donald Trump/Stormy Daniels matter and the payment of $130k.

In addition to negotiating a payment in the Stormy Daniels matter, Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, also played a part in the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The payments to Stormy Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford, are said to be only part of the documentation the FBI was seeking in the office of Michael Cohen. A source said that the FBI also seized emails, tax documents, and business records.

The ‘Extraordinary Search’ Of Cohen’s Correspondence With Donald Trump Happened Today

CNN stated that Angelo Kakolyris, a spokesman for the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs in New York, where Michael Cohen has his office, stated that they are severing their relationship with Cohen and that they are cooperating fully with the FBI in terms of their search. He also added that the firm has nothing to do with the relationship between Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and Michael Cohen.

Mueller is said to have green-lit the request for search warrants after complaints to the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission over potential violations of campaign finance law in reference to payments to Stormy Daniels from Michael Cohen on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump.

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer now representing Stormy Daniels in her matter concerning a non-disclosure agreement with Donald Trump, commented on the search of the law office of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on Twitter today.

In addition to the FBI investigation, Avenatti is still pursuing a civil matter on behalf of his client, Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) and others versus Donald Trump. Avenatti says the case will not be over until Trump and Cohen come clean on the matter and vindicate Daniels. </s> A grand jury impaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller in connection with the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has issued subpoenas concerning Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with Kremlin-aligned lawyers during the campaign.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday the panel began its work in recent weeks. Grand juries are seated to assess the validity of an accusation brought by prosecutors in advance of an indictment. Though the primary task of a grand jury is to issue an indictment, they also allow prosecutors to subpoena documents and question witnesses under oath.

Reuters subsequently reported that the grand jury has issued subpoenas concerning Trump Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer with Kremlin connections hawking opposition research about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

It is not clear whether the subpoenas compel the appearance of witnesses, the production of documents, or both.

Trump’s Jr.’s legal counsel did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s inquiries by press time.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact . </s> Federal investigators are examining whether President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud worth more than $20 million, according to a media report.

The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, said authorities were focusing on loans obtained for taxi businesses owned by Cohen and his family. The bank loans under examination were provided by Sterling National Bank and Melrose Credit Union, the Times reported. Investigators are looking into whether Cohen obtained the loans by misrepresenting his assets.

Investigators were also considering whether Cohen had violated campaign finance and other laws when he made financial arrangements to pay women to stay silent about alleged affairs with then-candidate Trump in 2016.

Prosecutors may file charges by the end of August, two sources told the Times.

Cohen, who long served as Trump's fixer, has been under investigation for months. In April, federal investigators for the Southern District of New York seized roughly 4 million files from Cohen's home, business office and hotel room.

Last week, a court-appointed special master who reviewed the material said investigators would have access to most of those records.

More: Feds win access to records seized from ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen

More: Michael Cohen tapes: Here's what we know about the secret recordings

The investigation has ruptured the once close relationship between Cohen and Trump. In July, Cohen reportedly said the president had been aware of a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower to obtain damaging about Hillary Clinton.

Cohen also released a tape in which he and Trump discuss buying the rights of former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story about having an affair with Trump. </s> Washington (CNN) Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

Robert Kelner, an attorney for Flynn, declined to comment. The US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, the Justice Department and the FBI also declined to comment.

Read More </s> The FBI raided the office and hotel room of President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, on Monday.

Agents seized records related to several topics, among them Cohen’s 2016 payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with Trump, according to the New York Times. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller. The Washington Post reported that Cohen is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and campaign finance violations.

The raid provoked an extraordinary tirade from Trump. “It’s a disgraceful situation,” a visibly angry Trump told reporters prior to meeting with his national security team Monday. “It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time.”

“It’s an attack on our country,” he said. “It’s an attack on what we all stand for.”

Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, confirmed the raids in the statement Monday. “Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” Ryan said. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”

Ryan called the use of search warrants “completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” and charged that it “resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients.” Ryan said Cohen has already cooperated with investigators, including providing documents to Congress and sitting for depositions.

The referral to the US attorney in the Southern District of New York was approved by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Bloomberg reported.

Trump on Monday criticized Rosenstein and complained that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from involvement in the probe into Trump’s ties to Russia. (Sessions, who worked with Trump’s campaign team, said he was recusing himself from any involvement in investigations related to 2016 presidential campaigns, following standard ethics guidelines. But in practice he has appeared to repeatedly violate that pledge.)

It is not clear if Trump has power to fire Mueller, but the president on Monday threatened to try. “We’ll see what happens,” he said.

The raid of Cohen’s office occurred at the New York office of Squire Patton Boggs, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Mother Jones confirmed. Cohen used that office as part of a strategic partnership he formed with the firm last year.

Angelo Kakolyris, a spokesman for Squire Patton Boggs, said in a statement Monday that the firm’s partnership with Cohen has ended. “The firm’s arrangement with Mr. Cohen reached its conclusion, mutually and in accordance with the terms of the agreement,” Kakolyris said. “We have been in contact with Federal authorities regarding their execution of a warrant relating to Mr. Cohen. These activities do not relate to the firm and we are in full cooperation.” A source at the firm said Cohen’s exit “was in the works prior to today.”

Vanity Fair reported that FBI agents also raided a room at the Loews Regency Hotel in the Upper East Side, where Cohen has been staying. It was not clear why Cohen, who lives in New York, was occupying a hotel room there. </s> Washington (CNN)Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

 The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

 Robert Kelner, an attorney for Flynn, declined to comment. The US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, the Justice Department and the FBI also declined to comment.

Investigators have been looking into possible wrongdoing in how Flynn handled disclosures about payments from clients tied to foreign governments including Russia and Turkey, US officials briefed on the matter have told CNN.

 The Flynn inquiry is one piece of the broader investigation, which FBI Director James Comey testified in a Senate hearing last week is led jointly by the Alexandria US Attorney's Office and the Justice Department's National Security Division. </s> (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File). FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, leaves federal court after reaching a plea agreement in New York. Investigators in New York state issued a subpoena...

NEW YORK (AP) - Mired in financial woes, Michael Cohen is sticking his hand out and asking the public for help paying for his legal defense, and one anonymous donor already has ponied up $50,000.

Through his lawyer, Donald Trump's former "fixer" says collecting contributions through a GoFundMe page set up after his guilty plea this week is the only way to ensure the truth comes out about the president.

It's also the latest sign that Cohen is broke.

Trump's former personal lawyer owes at least $1.4 million to the IRS after pleading guilty Tuesday to tax evasion, campaign finance violations and bank fraud, and has racked up millions of dollars in debt. Because of his plea, he's being forced to give up his New York City taxi medallions, which have shrunk in value as Uber and Lyft shake up the industry.

"He's without resources and owes a lot of money," Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said in a battery of television interviews on Wednesday.

Cohen, who once said he would "take a bullet" for Trump, commented in court on Tuesday that Trump directed him to arrange payments of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels and $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to buy their silence about alleged affairs before the election.

While Trump denies the affairs, his account of his knowledge of the payments has shifted. In April, Trump denied he knew anything about the Daniels payment. He told Fox News in an interview aired Thursday that he knew about payments "later on."

By Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe page dubbed the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund" had raised more than $145,000 from about 2,600 donations. Most reaction on social media was incredulous and unsympathetic, but one $5 donor was encouraging, writing: "The USA would love you for your honesty."

Confusion over the web address for the fundraising page, michaelcohentruthfund.com , led someone on Wednesday to anonymously register a shorter version, michaelcohentruth.com , that redirects to Trump's re-election campaign website.

Cohen's crowdfunding campaign, which has a goal of raising $500,000, could be a way for Cohen to bolster his whistleblower status by appealing to Democrats and others who want to see Trump taken down.

It's not the first time someone who felt wronged by Trump has asked the public to pony up. Fired former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe raked in more than $500,000 in just five days of his legal defense campaign, and Daniels funded her lawsuit against the president with about $500,000 raised from nearly 17,000 donors.

Cohen could ultimately need much more to wipe his books clean.

Court papers filed in connection with Cohen's guilty plea detailed his precarious financial state, as well as his side gigs as a taxicab magnate, high-interest lender and broker of real estate and handbag deals.

In one arrangement, according to the papers, Cohen used a line of credit he obtained at 5 percent interest to float a $6 million loan to a Chicago taxi operator at 12 percent interest.

Later, when applying for the $500,000 home equity credit line used to finance the Daniels payment, the papers say Cohen failed to disclose $14 million in medallion-related debt. Cohen and his wife claimed on the loan paperwork that they had a positive net worth of more than $40 million.

In April, transaction records show, Cohen put up his multimillion-dollar Trump Park Avenue home - valued at $9 million - as collateral on some of his taxi-related loans.

The value of medallions, the physical plates affixed to cabs that owners are required to display, have dropped precipitously in recent years from highs of over $1 million apiece in New York just a few years ago to nearly a quarter of that amount today.

Cohen has been involved in the gritty New York City yellow cab industry since the 1990s. He's owned about 30 medallions with his wife and father-in-law, as well as a fleet of 22 cabs in Chicago, records show. Some of them are held through companies with names such as Love Bug Cab Corp. and Tailgater Cab Corp.

In addition to his Trump and taxi work, the court papers say Cohen made $100,000 in 2014 for brokering the sale of a piece of property in a Florida aviation community and $30,000 in 2015 for brokering the sale of a Birkin bag, a highly coveted French handbag.

Davis, who is listed as the creator of Cohen's fundraising page, told The Associated Press last month that Cohen was footing the bill for his defense after pivoting from loyalty to Trump to looking out for himself, but was "thinking of trying to get some help."

A description on the GoFundMe page describes it as a "transparent trust account, with all donations going to help Michael Cohen and his family" as he goes forward with telling the truth about Trump.

Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said crowdfunding campaigns raise ethical concerns because they allow people to contribute to a political cause similarly to a campaign contribution, but without the same transparency and regulation.

"Who does the lawyer and client feel grateful to?" Levinson said. "Right now, there is no clear way of finding out."

GoFundMe no longer allows fundraisers to download a list of donor's information such as email addresses, citing new data protection regulations. Fundraisers can communicate with donors through the GoFundMe site. And although there is an option to make donations appear anonymously on the public-facing part of the website, it appears that the fundraiser can still view the name of these donors.

GoFundMe did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The money also could add to Cohen's already sizeable tax bill.

Robert Rizzi, a lawyer specializing in tax and government ethics, said the law is unclear whether Cohen would have to pay taxes on the fundraising proceeds. Taxes would apply if the money counts as income, but not if it's a gift - but gifts must be given "out of detached and disinterested generosity," Rizzi said.

"There would be an irony in being taxed on money he raised to defend himself for tax evasion," Rizzi said.

Follow Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Groves at twitter.com/stephengroves

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday raided the offices and home of US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, law enforcement sources said, in a dramatic new development in a series of probes involving close Trump associates.

Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen M. Ryan, said that US prosecutors conducted a search that was partly a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.

Mueller is investigating whether members of Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia during the U.S. presidential election. Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and denied any collusion.

The raid could increase legal pressure on the president, because it involves the records of his longtime attorney and indicates a second center of investigations in Manhattan, alongside Mueller’s Washington-based probe.

Cohen has been at the center of a controversy over a $130,000 payment he has admitted making shortly before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, who has said that she had sex once with Trump in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet about it.

Trump reacted with unusually harsh language to news of the raid.

“It’s a disgraceful situation. It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time,” Trump said at the opening of a meeting with military and national security advisers to discuss Syria.

Asked whether he would fire Mueller, Trump said, “Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens.”

Trump cannot fire Mueller directly, but he could order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel’s probe, to end it, or Trump could fire Rosenstein if he refuses.

Under federal regulations, if Mueller comes across information that is not directly related to his Russia-focused investigation, he must confer with Rosenstein. Rosenstein could direct Mueller to either investigate the issue himself or refer it to another law enforcement authority.

The raids were first reported by The New York Times.

“Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” Ryan said in a statement.

“I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller,” Ryan said.

Federal prosecutors are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violation in connection with the Stormy Daniels payment, and perhaps other matters having to do with foreign support to Trump’s 2016 campaign, a second source familiar with the investigation said.

Cohen did not immediately respond to Reuters for a request for comment. A spokesman for Mueller had no comment.

Cohen has said that he paid the $130,000 settlement money to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, from his own pocket through a personal home equity loan. Trump, in comments to reporters on Air Force One last week, said that he did not know about the payment.

According to a person familiar with the matter, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the New York offices of the law firm Squire Patton Boggs on the 23rd floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where Cohen has an office.

The agents went there about 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. and worked for several hours, the person said.

A source familiar with the investigation said the raid was conducted without prior warning.

Federal agents also raided a room at the Loews Regency Hotel on Park Avenue in Manhattan where Cohen has been staying while his apartment is being renovated, The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed person.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office on Monday also sought any emails between former White House communications director Hope Hicks and Cohen about a false and misleading account that Trump helped prepare of a June 9, 2016, meeting between Trump’s son Donald Trump, Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner and a group of Russians who had promised “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the first source familiar with the investigation said.

Such emails would not be covered by attorney-client privilege, this source said, because Cohen did not represent Hicks.

Ryan, in his statement, called the search warrants executed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.”

“It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients,” he said.

Attorney-client privilege is intended to encourage open communications between lawyers and their clients, so that lawyers can provide sound legal advice.

But the privilege is not absolute, and there is an exception for communications made to further a crime.

“The crime-fraud exception means the privilege does not apply to communications between the client and the attorney, if they are evidence of an ongoing crime or fraud, not just a past crime or fraud,” said Christopher Slobogin, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School specializing in criminal procedure and evidence.

A spokesman for Squire Patton Boggs said in a statement that its arrangement with Cohen is ending.

“The firm’s arrangement with Mr. Cohen reached its conclusion, mutually and in accordance with the terms of the agreement,” the statement said. “We have been in contact with Federal authorities regarding their execution of a warrant relating to Mr. Cohen. These activities do not relate to the firm and we are in full cooperation.”

Ryan said that Cohen has cooperated with authorities and turned over thousands of documents to congressional investigators for their own probes into Moscow’s alleged efforts to influence the U.S. election.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> President Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen appeared at FBI headquarters in New York on Tuesday afternoon ahead of a 4 p.m. court proceeding where he will plead guilty to federal charges, according to multiple reports.

Cohen will reportedly plead guilty to charges concerning violations of campaign-finance law, bank fraud, and tax fraud stemming from a four-month investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.

The probe has focused on his business dealings, but also touched on pre-election-year payoffs to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump years ago.

Prosecutors announced there would be a proceeding of interest for a defendant identified only as John Doe, followed by a news conference outside the courthouse. About 90 minutes before that scheduled event, Cohen was seen walking into the FBI building.

The downfall of Trump’s longtime lawyer was set in motion April 9 by an FBI raid on his home, office and hotel room. The raid was reportedly authorized by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a target of Trump’s frequent ire over the Russia investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in court filings at the time that it was investigating “Cohen’s personal business dealings and finances.” Prosecutors eyed Cohen for months, reportedly over possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign-finance violations.

Search warrants reportedly sought information on $20 million in loans Cohen took out from two banks that deal with the taxi industry, which Cohen was a part of through his ownership of medallions that authorize cabs in New York.

The warrants also sought information on Cohen’s role in muzzling at least two women who allegedly had extramarital affairs with Trump: Stormy Daniels, who claimed she bedded the now-president at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament in 2006, and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she dated Trump throughout 2006 and 2007.

Daniels signed a nondisclosure agreement with Trump and Cohen days before the election in exchange for $130,000, while McDougal’s story was bought, then buried, by the Trump-friendly publisher of the National Enquirer. Both women filed lawsuits asking to be released from these contracts. McDougal has settled and stepped out of the spotlight, but Daniels’ case is on hold pending the outcome of the Cohen probe.

Hours after the FBI came knocking, President Trump called the raid a “disgraceful situation” and “an attack on our country.” Cohen was famously Trump’s most-dependable bulldog, saying he would “do anything” to protect him, even to “take a bullet.”

Weeks after the raid though, their relationship — said to have been frosty since Trump became president and reportedly spurned Cohen for a West Wing job — turned to ice.

In June, CNN reported Cohen claimed that Trump has prior knowledge of the infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russians offering “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. In response, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Cohen had “lied all his life.”

Days later, in Cohen’s first and only interview since the raid, Trump’s former fixer said his family “have my first loyalty and always will.”

Days after the FBI search, Cohen, 52, lawyered up and sought a temporary restraining order in Manhattan federal court, asking that his legal team inspect the materials for attorney-client privilege before handing them to prosecutors.

On April 26, U.S. District judge Kimba Wood appointed a former colleague, Barbara Jones, as the “special master,” or independent party, tasked with reviewing the seized paper and electronic items for privilege.

Federal agents confiscated over 3.7 million files, and a review of the documents came to an end on Monday. Judge Wood on Tuesday accepted Jones’ finding that “7,146 of those items are privileged, eight are partially privileged, and 285 are highly personal.” None of those items may be supplied to the government as part of its investigation, Wood ruled.

After the raid, Cohen then hired two new lawyers, one to deal with feds and one to deal with Trump: Guy Petrillo, former chief of SDNY’s criminal division and an experienced trial lawyer; Lanny Davis, a lawyer “best known as a high-profile spinner for Bill and Hillary Clinton,” as The New York Times put it.

Davis took on Trump’s own lawyer, Giuliani, in a fight that played out on TV in July.

That month, Davis released one of several tapes Cohen is said to have made of Trump when they two worked together at the Trump organization. On the tape, Trump and Cohen apparently discuss how to pay off McDougal.

"I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David," Cohen said, likely referencing AMI owner David Pecker. When Cohen tells Trump about financing, Trump said “pay with cash.”

Giuliani said Trump never paid any money towards the McDougal catch and kill.

Prosecutors have 12 audio tapes made by Cohen, CNN reported last month.
New York state investigators subpoena Michael Cohen as part of their investigation into the Trump Foundation.