Michael Cohen's Attorneys Claim Thousands of Privileged Documents Scooped Up in Raid
- by
- in World Media
- — Apr 14, 2018
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's maybe-current, maybe-former personal attorney, is having a nice Friday afternoon, smoking cigars on a Manhattan bench with his friends on the first truly attractive day in New York City in months.
In a court filing on Friday, federal prosecutors confirmed that Cohen was over his firm transactions rather than his private work, chiefly under legal investigation for decades.
It was a balmy Friday in New York City, but Michael Cohen probably wasn't in a very bright mood.
Prosecutors and the attorneys for Cohen and Trump appeared before U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood on Friday in Manhattan.
With the FBI's raid threatening to expose the details behind those dealings, and ongoing criminal investigation, it is understandable why Trump's fiercely loyal attorney felt the need to spend a casual afternoon with his friends.
Attorneys for Trump lawyer Michael Cohen want the court to order prosecutors to temporarily halt an examination of the material that was seized.
The investigation into Cohen was based on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible interference by Russian Federation in the 2016 election won by Trump.
Bloomin' Brands; Delta Air Lines; Rite Aid — CORPORATE REPORT
Latest trading price was -8.54% downbeat to its 50-day moving average and below -14.04% to its 200-day moving average. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website .
Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Once they've reviewed the records, the filter team can give to the investigators communications "between Cohen and persons with whom Cohen undisputedly does not have an attorney-client relationship", likely meaning the records wouldn't be between Cohen and Trump, prosecutors said.
Cohen is asking for the right to review the documents before investigators do, so he can determine if any information was covered by attorney-client privilege.
Cohen has not commented to ABC News about the criminal investigation.
Attorneys for the government, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay, argued that Cohen's attorneys "utterly failed" to substantiate the claims in their motion seeking the TRO, characterizing the move as being "a delay tactic from the outset".
According to The Times report, both Trump's and Cohen's legal teams on Friday were assessing the damage from documents obtained in a raid on Cohen's home and office Monday.
The reasons for the search of Cohen's office and hotel room, based in part on a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Manhattan prosecutors, have not been made public, but is linked in part to a $130,000 payoff Cohen made in 2016 to porn star Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to keep quiet about an alleged one-night stand she had with Trump. "He has an acute interest in those proceedings and the manner in which these materials are reviewed", Hendon told the court. He stated that Cohen's lawyers should not be the ones "single-handedly" deciding which material should retain attorney-client privilege.
