WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has lashed out at his top law enforcement officials after the FBI raided the office of Michael D. Cohen, his personal lawyers in New York and seized various documents, including a payment to a pornographic film actress.
Trump talking to reporters in White House termed the FBI’s raid on Cohen’s office was a “disgrace” and an “attack on our country”. He added that the raids were part of “witch hunt” against him.
The President said, “I have this witch hunt constantly going on”.
The law enforcement officials conducted the raid, which is said to be a part of a probe into bank fraud by the laywer, following a “referral” from Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“Today the US 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,” BBC quoted Cohen’s lawyer Stephen M Ryan said in a statement.
“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 co-operated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath,” the statement said.
Slamming the investigation against his personal lawyer, Trump called Muller’s team as “the most biased group of people” in which mostly Democrats and some Republicans, who worked for former president Barack Obama, were included.
In his extraordinary response over the FBI raid, Trump mused about the possibility that he might soon oust Mueller.
“We’ll see what may happen,” Trump said Monday. “Many people have said you should fire him.”
Cohen landed in hot waters after he publicly confessed to paying a $130,000 (£92,000) to adult film star Stormy Daniels, just days before the presidential election in 2016.
Daniel has claimed that she was paid for keeping her sexual affair with the President secret. She further claimed that they both had an affair when Melania Trump gave birth to their child.
However, Trump, who has rejected the allegations, said he did not know about making payment by his lawyer to the porn star.
According to the New York Times, FBI agents sought information on payments made relating to Mr Trump’s alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and other tax and business dealings. What was once largely a political embarrassment could have metastasised into legal jeopardy.
Cohen is under investigation for finance violations relating to the 2016 presidential campaign, The Washington Post reports.
