The FBI raided the Manhattan office of Donald Trump‘s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, on Monday, April 9, according to The New York Times.
The outlet reports that the FBI seized records pertaining to various topics, including payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with the 71-year-old president back in 2006. She also alleged that Cohen had her sign a nondisclosure agreement and paid her $130,000 in hush money.
“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,” Stephen Ryan, a lawyer for Cohen, told The Times. “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.”
According to the Times, Ryan called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.”
Beyond his affiliation with the 39-year-old porn star’s case, Cohen is also said to play a key role in the U.S. special counsel’s investigation of the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. It’s reported that the FBI also seized business records, tax documents and emails, some of which contained communications between Trump and Cohen.
The former real estate mogul spoke out on Monday about the raid on his attorney’s office.
“I just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys. Good man. And it’s a disgraceful situation. It’s a total witch hunt,” he told reporters at the White House before a meeting with military leaders, according to CNN.
“It’s an attack on our country,” he continued. “It’s an attack on what we all stand for.”
As previously reported, Trump denied knowing about the payments to Daniels after reporters aboard Air Force One questioned him about it last week.
”You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen,” he said when asked about why his longtime lawyer would pay her off. “Michael is my attorney. You’ll have to ask Michael.”
The alleged affair between Daniels and Trump was said to taken place just months after Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, gave birth to their son, Barron. Daniels detailed her liaison with Trump in an interview with 60 Minutes last month.
