Sources close to Trump say that the raid on his personal attorney Michael Cohen’s office and hotel room, during which the FBI seized communications and documents that could potentially prove disastrous for the president, has angered him as nothing before has during his time in office.
Some of the evidence sought during the raid were tied to the allegations of adult film star and director Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) that she had an affair with Trump very shortly after the birth of his youngest son and that she was intimidated and threatened into signing a non-disclosure agreement just days ahead of the 2016 presidential election in order to keep that story from being told. Cohen is currently under criminal investigation for “possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations,” according to The Washington Post.
Cohen was ordered by the judge presiding over the case to appear in court on Monday, April 16 to answer some of the judge’s questions around the case. Clifford’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, says that his client will likely appear in court for Cohen’s hearing.
The reasons for Clifford to appear are related to Cohen’s attorney’s claims that the evidence sought by the FBI are protected by attorney-client privilege. Should the judge determine that Cohen conspired to commit crimes with those same clients, this privilege does not apply.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GOSYbPzIP4
According to The Associated Press:
‘Attorneys for Trump lawyer Michael Cohen want the court to order prosecutors to temporarily halt an examination of the material that was seized. They claim it’s protected by attorney-client privilege.
‘Avenatti said he believes some of the seized documents relate to Clifford, who performs under the name Stormy Daniels.
‘People familiar with the federal investigation have told The Associated Press the search warrant used in the raids ‘sought, among other things, information on payments made to Clifford. She says she had an affair with Trump.’
The response to this motion to halt the examination of evidence by prosecutors were a testament to how much trouble Cohen may really find himself facing.
‘Prosecutors say Cohen barely practiced law so most of the documents aren’t off limits. A brief they filed in response to Cohen’s court action revealed that he’d been under investigation for months and that the FBI had searched multiple email accounts.’
To obtain the warrant to search Cohen’s office and hotel room, significantly credible evidence had to have been presented to the federal court in the southern district of New York who issued it.
Responses to Avenatti’s tweet were full of support and encouragement. See some of Twitter’s reactions to the attorney’s tweet below:
Featured image screengrab via YouTube
