IRS analyst illegally leaked Cohen documents

The Justice Department on Thursday charged IRS analyst John Fry with illegally leaking to the media confidential banking records belonging to Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer. According to the federal complaint, Fry, who works out of the San Francisco office of the IRS, downloaded sensitive records last May containing information about Cohen’s banking activity. He gave the records to a New Yorker journalist and attorney Michael Avenatti, who represents Stephanie Clifford, a pornographic actress who goes by the name Stormy Daniels and claims she had a brief affair with Trump in 2006.

According to the records, Cohen created a shell company to receive payments from a company linked to a Russian oligarch, as well as from U.S. companies like AT&T that wanted information on Trump. The documents also contained information about payments to Clifford.

Fry appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler Thursday and was released on $50,000 bond. If he is convicted of unlawful disclosure, Fry faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 13.

Meanwhile, Cohen on Wednesday received a two-month reprieve before he must report to prison. He had requested more time to recover from shoulder surgery and to appear before congressional committees. U.S. District Judge William Pauley in New York moved the date Cohen must report to prison from March 6 to May 6.

Cohen faces three years in prison on nine charges, including tax fraud and campaign finance violations for hush money payments to Clifford and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claims to have had an extra-marital affair with Trump. The president denies having the affairs. Cohen has delayed appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the House Oversight Committee, citing various excuses. But next week, he is set to appear before all three panels. The House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday is the only one that will be public.