The federal agents who raided the office of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, on Monday were specifically looking for records related to the “Access Hollywood” tape where Trump bragged about grabbing women by their genitals.
Cohen’s office and hotel room were raided by the FBI, as officials sought records pertaining to the tape among other things, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Exactly what the agents were hoping to find is unknown.
Agents also searched for evidence on whether Cohen tried to suppress damaging information about Trump during the 2016 presidential race, the article said.
It’s unclear what role, if any, Cohen played in regards to the tape, which was made public a month before the election and nearly derailed Trump’s candidacy. But, as the Times notes, the fact that agents were looking for documents related to the tape exposed a “new front” in the investigation into Cohen by the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan.
The new details could explain why Trump was so incensed about the raid. The Times reports that people close to Trump and Cohen see the warrant as an attempt by the special counsel Robert Mueller to pry into Trump’s personal life.