Some members of President Trump’s inner circle are concerned that federal investigators took recordings from Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen during an FBI raid of the latter’s office and home earlier this week, according to a new report.
Cohen made a habit of recording conversations he had with his associates, sources familiar with his practice told the Washington Post. Although it’s uncertain if Cohen recorded discussions with Trump, sources said Cohen taped business and political conversations.
“We heard he had some proclivity to make tapes,” a Trump adviser told the Post. “Now we are wondering, who did he tape? Did he store those someplace where they were actually seized? … Did they find his recordings?”
Cohen did not respond to the Post’s request for comment, and his attorney Stephen Ryan declined to comment.
FBI agents raided Cohen’s office and home on Monday — a move that was reportedly approved by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is also overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
According to the Washington Post, Cohen is under investigation for potentially committing bank fraud and violating campaign finance rules.
Computers and phones, among other documents of Cohen’s, were obtained in the raid. Additionally, investigators were also seeking documents concerning adult film star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who have both been involved in legal battles with Trump over alleged extramarital affairs and received payments in exchange for their silence.
If recordings were obtained, a separate Justice Department team and possibly a federal judge must examine the recordings before federal investigators would have access to them. This ensures attorney-client privilege is preserved and that the discussions fit the limitations of the search warrant, legal experts told the newspaper.
However, attorney-client privilege doesn’t cover conversations that sought to further any instances of crime or fraud.
The raid has heightened tensions between the White House and the Department of Justice.
Earlier this week, Trump fumed about the “disgraceful” raid and specifically called out federal investigators. Trump is also reportedly considering removing Rosenstein.
Trump, who has called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt,” has also reportedly weighed removing Mueller on several occasions.
As a result, lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking to advance legislation that would prevent Mueller’s ouster.
Trump has maintained that he would have booted Mueller already if he wanted to and reiterated that he had no intention of seeking his ouster.
“If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have fired him. Just more Fake News from a biased newspaper!” the president tweeted Thursday. The White House has also said repeatedly that there is no plan to fire Mueller.
