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Trump Calls Raid on Lawyer's Office 'New Level of Unfairness'

by VOA News

   U.S. President Donald Trump responded sharply Monday to a Federal
   Bureau of Investigation raid on his personal lawyer Michael Cohen's
   office, calling it a "disgraceful situation" and a "whole new level of
   unfairness."

   FBI agents executed search warrants at both Cohen's office and a hotel
   where he has been staying in order to seize financial documents and
   other records, including those related to a $130,000 payment Cohen made
   to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

   People with knowledge of the case told the Washington Post and New York
   Times that Cohen is under investigation for possible bank fraud.

   Cohen's attorney, Stephen Ryan, said the search was based in part on a
   referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who has spent the past
   year investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election and
   possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

   Trump denies there was any collusion and has repeatedly cast Mueller's
   work as a "witch hunt."

   "The decision by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York to conduct
   their investigation using search warrants is inappropriate and
   unnecessary," Ryan said in a statement. "It resulted in the unnecessary
   seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer
   and his clients."

   Ryan added that Cohen has cooperated with investigators.

   Although Mueller's probe is focused on Russian election interference,
   under law he would need approval by the U.S. attorney general if he
   discovers something else during his investigation that he deems worth
   looking into.

   Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russian
   election probe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would have been
   the one to ask judges to approve the FBI raid on Cohen's office.

   Mueller's office, the U.S. attorney's office and the White House did
   not comment on Monday's raid.

   But Trump spoke about it publicly before a meeting with senior military
   leaders Monday night. When asked if he is concerned about what federal
   agents might find, Trump said, "No, I'm not."

   He called the situation "an attack on our country" and "an attack on
   what we all stand for," while also accusing investigators of being
   biased and continuing to search for information after not finding
   evidence of collusion. And when asked if he would fire Mueller, Trump
   said, "We'll see what happens."

   Mueller's investigation is ongoing. His team has been in contact with
   Trump's attorneys about talking to the president as part of the
   investigation, but so far the president has not been directly
   interviewed.

   Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a former U.S. attorney, said the
   search warrant in the Cohen case "likely found evidence of records
   hidden or destroyed" in order to justify obtaining them through a
   search instead of a subpoena requesting they be turned over.

   "'Crime/fraud exception' trumps attorney-client privilege, and lawyer
   can testify under subpoena in criminal proceedings," Whitehouse wrote
   on Twitter.

   Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer warned Trump against firing
   Mueller or interfering in the Russia probe.

   "Mueller, a Republican, has uncovered a deep & detailed pattern of
   Russian interference in our elections that led to indictments & guilty
   pleas. It also led to the Trump admin itself leveling sanctions against
   Russian individuals, proof that it's not a so-called 'witch-hunt,'"
   Schumer wrote.

   Mueller has indicted 13 Russians on conspiracy charges for their roles
   in election interference. He also secured guilty pleas from Trump's
   former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former foreign
   affairs adviser George Papadopoulos for lying to federal investigators
   about their contacts with Russian officials.

   Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort has not been charged with
   any crimes related to the presidential contest, but faces multiple
   counts of criminal wrongdoing in connection with years of lobbying
   efforts in Ukraine for one-time Ukrainian strongman Viktor Yanukovych.
   Manafort has pleaded not guilty.

   Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in the days before the 2016 presidential
   election to keep quiet about an affair she allegedly had with Trump in
   2006.

   Trump has said he was unaware of the payment, which some legal experts
   believe may have been an illegal campaign contribution to keep Daniels
   from speaking out and possibly destroying Trump's chances of getting
   elected.