Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, months after Melania gave birth to Barron Trump
The FBI has raided the offices of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump‘s personally attorney, and have seized records related to his 2016 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, according to reports.
Federal prosecutors obtained the search warrant after special counsel Robert Mueller sent a referral, according to Mr Cohen’s lawyer, who said the search was “completely inappropriate and unnecessary”.
It does not appear as though the search, which was first reported by the New York Times, was related to Mr Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, but likely resulted from information his team provided to federal prosecutors in New York.
“Today the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” Stephen Ryan, Mr Cohen’s lawyer, said. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”
Mr Cohen said earlier this year that he had paid Daniels – a porn star who says she had an affair with Mr Trump over a decade ago – $130,000 (£92,000) just before the 2016 US election in exchange for her signing a non-disclosure agreement regarding her interactions with Mr Trump.
Mr Ryan said that his client has cooperated with authorities, and has turned over thousands of documents to congressional investigators who are looking into Russian election meddling. The payment to Daniels – whose real name is Stephanie Clifford – is one of several topics being investigated by the FBI. The intelligence agency reportedly seized emails, tax documents, and business records in addition to the documents related to the 2016 payment, sources told the New York Times.