FBI agents who raided the office of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, were reportedly looking for information about payments to a pornstar and a former Playboy playmate who claim to have had affairs with the president.
Public corruption prosecutors in the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan are trying to determine if there was any fraud related to the payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, sources with knowledge of the investigation told The New York Times and the Associated Press.
Mr Cohen paid $130,000 (£92,000) to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, as part of an agreement made before the 2016 election to keep her from going public with her allegations.
Ms McDougal, a former playmate, was paid $150,000 (£106,000) by the parent company of the National Enquirer for her story, though the magazine never published it.
A warrant used in the raid on Monday specifically authorised agents to seize records related to Ms McDougal, a source told AP.
The payments appear to be part of a pattern of Mr Trump’s self-described fixer trying to shield the businessman-turned-politician from embarrassing press by buying women’s silence.
The latest details emerged as the president appeared incensed about the raid.
Mr Trump called it a break-in and a “disgraceful situation,” which he said came amid an ongoing “attack on what we all stand for” by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The search did not appear related to allegations of interference in the US election by Russia, or possible collusion with the Trump campaign, the main focus of Mr Mueller’s probe.
However, it was prompted, at least in part, by evidence or allegations uncovered by Mr Mueller’s team.
FBI agents searched Mr Cohen’s office, apartment and a hotel room where he has been staying while his home is under renovation, looking for documents related to Ms Clifford and Ms McDougal.
Ms Clifford claims she had sex with Mr Trump in 2006.
Ms McDougal has said she carried on an affair with Mr Trump in the same year, after the birth of his son.
Mr Cohen has denied wrongdoing in his payment to Ms Clifford and has publicly defended Mr Trump.
He has said he took out a personal line of credit on his home to pay Ms Clifford days before the 2016 election and without the knowledge of Mr Trump or the Trump campaign.
The White House has consistently said Mr Trump denies the affair.
In his first public comments since the raid, Mr Cohen told CNN he is rethinking how he handled the payment to Ms Clifford because of what it’s done to his family.
He also praised the FBI agents who carried out the search as “professional, courteous and respectful.”
Asked if he was worried, Mr Cohen told CNN: “I would be lying to you if I told that I am not. Do I need this in my life? No. Do I want to be involved in this? No.”
