Posted on 04/09/2018 1:24:44 PM PDT by gattaca
The FBI raided the offices of President Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen on Monday.
The raid came after federal prosecutors in New York City obtained a search warrant following a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, Cohen's lawyer told the New York Times. Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and related issues.
NBC News confirmed news of the raid.
The Times reported that FBI agents seized records relating to several issues, including a $130,000 payment Cohen has said he made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels has said that money was given to her in exchange for her agreement to keep quiet about an affair she had with Trump that began in 2006. The White House has denied that Trump had sex with Daniels, and Trump has said he was unaware of the deal Cohen made with her.
In addition to records related to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, FBI agents also seized emails, tax documents and business records, according to the Times, which cited a person briefed on the search.
Cohen is an executive vice president and general counsel of the Trump Organization.
It was not immediately clear where the raid occurred. Vanity Fair reported that FBI agents on Monday visited a room at the Lowes Regency Hotel in Manhattan, where Cohen has been staying and executed the warrants.
Cohen's lawyer, Stephen Ryan, said, "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. 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."
"The decision by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary," Ryan said.
"It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients. These government tactics are also wrong because Mr. Cohen has cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath."
Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CNBC that the White House has no comment on the raid.
Spokesmen for the FBI's New York field office and for Mueller did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.
Trump has no one to blame but himself. Hey idiot, you put Sessions at the head of DOJ, you deserve this nonsense.
Ah, I think you’re right. Wasn’t that option spelled out in Federalist #6?...or was it #7?
Character matters. This is all a self-inflicted wound.
You’re right, I forgot about that angle.
Likely with glowing references from the same ilk of leaking, deep state reptiles that have had to be bounced out of the WH since Day One of DJT’s tenure, once their nefariousness became apparent.
I have no words. This is the deep state in action looking for any tiny thing they can find to charge the President with. Mueller needs someone to raid his office!
That was my exact thoughts too. PDJT still has rights and they’re being trodden upon recklessly. This is all just out of control now, such a gross abuse of power. This whole thing would be laughed out of any court room, it’s a poisoned tree. I can’t believe “special prosecutor” is allowed to bypass any of our laws and liberties.
If the left thinks that any of this is going to result in the removal of PDJT then they’re truly delusional, even if it means many have to encircle the WH with arms.
Who signed off on the warrant!! Also, it’s attorney client privilege!
All this obsession over a possible brief affair ten years before Trump was elected (from those not bothered by adultery while in office on the part of several recent Democrat Presidents), just for the sake of embarrassing Trump. If the FBI finds evidence that Trump lied and there was an affair, will there be calls for him to resign?
Since Mueller is a former officer, Trump should call him back to doty and send his sorry ass over to Syria on a one man fact finding mission to determine if Putin and Assad had anything to do with any poison gas attack.
I’m ready.
Me too!
Adding to my earlier reply (also JMHO), it has one other purpose. That is to dissuade any other non-uniparty individual from ever running against the deep state again. Who would want to run where both your personal life and the lives of everyone around you would be destroyed?
For the sake of the Constitution, this is a battle that must be won now. I pray Trumps up to it, as no one else seems to be.
Oh, I am sure they found a treasure trove of impeachable offense evidence.
< /sarcasm>
This was an intimidation move, just like it was on Manafort.
It won’t work Mueller. You’ve failed. Bigly.
Truman had it right =>
“We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. F.B.I. is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex life scandles [sic] and plain blackmail when they should be catching criminals.”
No, I didn’t expect miracles. But any manager knows you cannot allow subversive people to stay in place so they can undermine and subvert you. If you remove/fire a couple of the resisters the rest of the resistance quickly gets the message that the new sherrif will not tolerate those who attempt to oppose and/or thwart his agenda. Its Management 101.
Do you know any successful managers that allow subordinates to openly undermine them? Oftentimes, one or two high profile firings produce the desired results in an organization.
You’re either going to help crew this ship towards its destination or you’re going to get tossed overboard. A captain doesn’t let the crew run the ship. That is mutiny. It is real and that is what I am talking about.
It should be that all powers are vested in the STATES! Thus, DC is a friggin political tent city with no powers.
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