Trump allies fear feds may have recordings made by Trump’s lawyer: Report

Allies of President Trump fear federal investigators could have their hands on recordings made by Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, according to a Washington Post report. Cohen sometimes taped recorded conversations with associates, three people familiar with Cohen’s practice told the Post.

Allies of the president, the Post reports, are concerned that if Cohen had recordings, federal investigators might have seized the recordings when they raided his home, office and hotel room earlier this week. But the Post says that it is unknown if Cohen ever taped conversations between himself and Mr. Trump.

As CBS News’ Jeff Pegues has reported, the search and seizure warrant documents mentioned Mr. Trump by name.

The search warrants also listed records related to the release of the so-called “Access Hollywood” tape, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News’ Andres Triay and Len Tepper. The New York Times first reported the connection to the tape. Investigators were also looking for information related to non-disclosure agreements between Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom claim they had sexual encounters with Mr. Trump. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is cooperating with federal investigators.

Mr. Trump was frustrated by the raid, calling the situation a “disgrace” on Monday.

“It’s a real disgrace,” Mr. Trump said, calling it “an attack on our country.”

“That is really a whole new level of unfairness,” the president added.

The evidence seized at Cohen’s home, office and hotel room was a part of an investigation into possible campaign finance violations, bank fraud, and other possible crimes. CBS News has reported federal investigators seized financial records and other documents. The raid can be traced back to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties to the Trump campaign.