Donald Trump’s lawyer’s offices were raided on Monday by the FBI seeking all records related to the Access Hollywood tape, in which he is heard saying of women that he likes to “grab ‘em by the —–“, it was reported last night.
The raid, on the office and hotel of Michael Cohen, sent shockwaves through Washington and New York and infuriated Mr Trump, who sees Mr Cohen – his long-serving lawyer and “fixer” – as akin to family.
The search warrant also sought evidence of whether Mr Cohen tried to suppress damaging information about Mr Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times said. It is not clear what role, if any, Mr Cohen played regarding the tape, which was made public a month before the election.
But the fact that the agents were seeking documents related to the tape reveals a new front in the investigation into Mr Cohen that is being led by the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan.
The revelation came as James Comey, the former FBI director, compared the US president to a "mob boss" in an interview ahead of the release of his bombshell new book.
Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not.
— James Comey (@Comey) March 17, 2018
Mr Comey was fired by Donald Trump last May and is doing a round of media interviews promoting his book A Higher Loyalty, which is being published on Tuesday.
The sacking of the FBI chief is seen as one of Mr Trump’s most controversial decisions in office and led to questions over whether it amounted to obstruction of justice – one of the grounds for impeachment.
Mr Comey’s book has already soared up best seller list thanks to pre-orders in anticipation of the revelations it may include about his relationship with Mr Trump. Last month it topped Amazon’s overall best-seller list after the president renewed his Twitter attacks on Mr Comey.
Click Here: camiseta seleccion argentina
US network ABC News has released a trailer ahead in which the interviewer ask the former intelligence chief: "How strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president to a mob boss?"
The interview, which airs in the US on Sunday evening, is "going to shock the president and his team", a source told the political website Axios.
The source added that the revelations left people in the room "stunned".
A teaser clip of Mr Comey’s interview shows him being questioned on the Russia investigation into possible election meddling, Hillary Clinton and the US president.
The firing of Mr Comey, who was leading the Russia probe at the time, is a key event being looked at by Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to take over control of the investigation.
Mr Mueller is reported to have interviewed Mr Comey about the US president’s behaviour in the run up to his firing.
Mr Comey’s book is due to be released just days after Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, had his offices raided by FBI agents.
The federal agents reportedly seized documents pertaining to Mr Cohen’s payments to two women who claim they had affairs with Mr Trump – accusations he vehemently denies.
Since the raid, Mr Trump has publicly speculated about firing Mr Mueller, saying: “I think it’s really a sad situation. Many people have said you should fire him [Mueller].”
Senior Republicans have warned the president against such a move, as it would raise further questions over whether Mr Trump was attempting to obstruct the Russia investigation.