INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Donald Trump also distanced himself from probe against Michael Cohen
(File)New York/ Washington: U.S
President Donald Trump distanced himself from his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Thursday, hours before a judge ruled that
documents seized from Cohen by the FBI should be reviewed by an independent court-appointed official.The appointment of former judge Barbara
Jones as a "special master," to review the documents and decide which ones prosecutors should be allowed to see, was essentially a
compromise that both prosecutors and Cohen's lawyers had said they would be open to, even though that option was not their first choice
The FBI raided Cohen's office and home on April 9, infuriating Trump
Prosecutors said they had been investigating the lawyer for months, largely over his business dealings rather than his legal work.Once they
receive the documents from Jones, prosecutors could use them in their case.It is not clear if those documents pertain to Trump's business
But earlier on Thursday in an interview with Fox News, Trump said Cohen had handled only "a tiny, tiny little fraction" of his overall legal
work.He said the investigation "doesn't have to do with me" and "they're looking at something having to do with his business
I have nothing to do with his business.Trump, who has said little publicly about an adult-film star who says she was paid to stay silent
about a one-night stand she had with Trump in 2006, also confirmed for the first time that Cohen had represented him in "this crazy Stormy
Daniels deal."Trump and Cohen have sought to limit which of the seized documents prosecutors could see, citing attorney-client privilege.The
prosecutors initially said the documents should be reviewed by lawyers within their own office, who would be walled off from the main
Cohen argued that his lawyers should get a first look.U.S
District Judge Kimba Wood instead decided at an hour-long hearing on Thursday to opt to ask a special master to see the documents first.The
prosecutors have begun to turn all of the seized materials over to Jones, who will review them to determine what is protected by
attorney-client privilege
Lawyers for Cohen and Trump will be able to review in tandem, so they can object to Jones' decisions if they disagree, the judge said.The
parties are due back in court to check in on the progress on May 24
Without setting a specific deadline, Wood indicated she may intervene if it were going too slowly.Jones has served in a similar role in a
In 2016, she was appointed the independent review officer for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hear corruption charges at the
labour union, and has overseen corporate compliance cases.Prosecutors have said they do not believe the papers are likely to contain many
privileged documents related to Trump
In a court filing on Thursday morning, they cited Trump's comment that Cohen handled only a small part of his legal work. Adult actress
Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with US President Donald TrumpCohen has admitted paying $130,000 to Daniels, whose real
name is Stephanie Clifford, before the 2016 election to secure her silence about having sex with Trump, which he denies
Cohen said the payment was legal, and Daniels has sued to end her nondisclosure agreement.Prosecutors are investigating Cohen for possible
bank and tax fraud, possible campaign law violations linked to the payment to Daniels, and perhaps other matters related to Trump's
presidential campaign, a person familiar with the probe has said.The investigation stemmed in part from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's
inquiry into possible collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, something that Trump has repeatedly denied.(Reporting
by Brendan Pierson, Jonathan Stempel and Karen Freifeld in New York and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Rosalba
O'Brien; Editing by Susan Thomas and Grant McCool) © Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by
staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
