Fox News talking head Sean Hannity erupted with rage last week after New York prosecutors raided the offices of President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, saying that special counsel Robert Mueller “and his merry band of Trump-hating deep-state sycophants” had now “officially gone rogue and declared war against the president.”
It turns out there might be another reason Hannity was angry about the raid: He’s one of Cohen’s clients, too. This came out Monday after a federal judge ordered Cohen to reveal his client list as part of an investigation into money Cohen paid to porn performer Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with President Trump. Cohen’s attorneys argued that the client, who turned out to be Hannity, would be embarrassed to have his name revealed, but the judge ruled that such embarrassment did not amount to a sufficient legal defense.
After the revelation, Hannity tweeted that Cohen “has never represented me in any matter.”
Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. I have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions about which I wanted his input and perspective.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 16, 2018
Monday’s court proceedings were intended to begin the process of deciding who will be allowed to view the documents prosecutors seized from Cohen’s home and office in the April 9 raid. Cohen’s attorneys have fought to prevent the government from accessing the documents, which they say would amount to a violation of attorney-client privilege. Instead, they argue, President Trump himself should have the option of first reviewing the seized documents himself and withholding those subject to attorney-client privilege. On Sunday night, a lawyer for President Trump filed a motion with the court supporting this argument.
The government, meanwhile, has argued that such a process would waste undue time, and that Cohen was only suggesting it to drag out and bog down the investigation. They have instead pushed to set up an independent “taint team” to go through the documents and judge what is and is not subject to attorney-client privilege, which they argue preserves due process without causing an undue delay.
“Where Mr. Cohen is now obviously under criminal investigation, he’s going to have even more incentive to drag things out by claiming privilege,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay said.
