NEW YORK _ FBI agents raided the Manhattan office of President Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Monday, confiscating documents relating to a hush payment he allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Federal prosecutors got a search warrant for Cohen's office after receiving a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, according to Cohen's lawyer, Stephen Ryan. The search was not directly correlated to Mueller's probe into Russian election meddling, but likely relates to information his team had uncovered and flagged for prosecutors in New York.
"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 in a statement.
Cohen facilitated a $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in exchange for her silence about a tryst she claims she had with Trump in 2006, according to court records.
Trump may have violated federal election laws if he in any way coordinated or had knowledge of the payment, as it occurred just a few days before the 2016 election. Trump has denied any knowledge of the payment.
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, speculated that the FBI raid could signal a major development in his client's case.
"An enormous amount of misplaced faith has been placed on MC's shoulders," Avenatti tweeted, referring to Cohen by his initials. "If he does not hold up, this could end very very badly for DJT and others."
