Federal investigators wiretapped phones belonging to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen in the weeks before agents raided Cohen’s home and offices on April 9.
The news from NBC injects a new level of gravity into Cohen’s legal jeopardy, and opens wider the range of materials the FBI might have at the ready to connect the president to an infamous $130,000 hush-money payment to a porn star who claims she slept with a then-married Trump.
The feds intercepted at least one phone call between a Cohen-linked phone number and the White House, the network reported.
Michael Cohen, left, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, was the subject of a federal wiretap warrant before the April 9 raid on his home and offices
That call could have connected Cohen to anyone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
But according to NBC, the president called Cohen once after the FBI raid – but cut off all communications with him after legal adviser Rudy Giuliani warned him that the bureau could be listening in.
Prosecutors in New York have already said in court filings that they had obtained warrants to sift through Cohen’s email accounts.
The question of whether or not Cohen will ‘flip’ on his longtime former boss and legal client is Washington’s favorite parlor game, but it’s unclear what kind of information he might have that’s not protected by attorney-client privilege.
The president’s campaign organization has paid more than $200,000 to cover Cohen’s legal expenses. The funds went to a law firm representing Cohen in his legal battles.
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