FBI raids office of Trump attorney

The FBI raided the New York City office and hotel room of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Monday. Agents seized records related to payments made to adult film performer Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels, and other matters, The New York Times reported. Attorney-client privilege normally would protect those documents unless there’s evidence of a crime being committed. The search warrant was not related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, but he referred the matter to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” The president responded by tweeting, “Attorney-client privilege is dead!” and, “A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!” Cohen has admitted to paying Clifford $130,000 just before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump more than a decade ago. The president has denied the affair and knowledge of the payment.