On Saturday, a fire at Trump Tower killed an elderly resident and injured six firefighters.
Many believe Trump should be held accountable due to unsafe conditions and a proposed sprinkler law that the president lobbied against that could have saved 67-year-old Todd Brassner.
We point all of this out today only to highlight the insanity of the fact that the blaze was not the damaging thing to happen to Donald Trump in the past 48 hours.
No, that honor belongs to the FBI raid on the offices of Trump’s attorney and longtime confidant Michael Cohen.
You may remember Cohen as the guy who personally paid off Stormy Daniels, supposedly without Trump’s knowledge or consent.
Because sometimes you just feel like forking over $ 130,000 grand to a random porn star who claims to have slept with your buddy, and you don’t need a reason, okay?!
The raid was first reported by The New York Times, who confirmed that federal prosecutors were granted a search warrant after receiving a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller.
The search and seizure doed not appear to be directly linked to Mueller’s investigation, but it could still spell big trouble for both Trump and Cohen.
Stephen Ryan, an attorney for Cohen, issued a statement in which he claimed that the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York had executed “a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications” from his client.
“Today the U.S. 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,” Ryan 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.”
A source familiar with the situation claims the investigation is related to the payment Cohen made to Daniels.
More than your run-of-the-mill sex scandal, the Daniels situation could have major legal implications for the Trump administration, as the payment made by Cohen may have constituted a violation of federal election laws.
If investigators determine that the money paid by Cohen to Daniels was intended to benefit the Trump campaign, then both Trump and Cohen could be facing prosecution.
Trump has already begun the process of distancing himself from Cohen, telling reporters recently that he was completely unaware of the six-figure payment that his attorney made to Daniels.
“You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen,” Trump said last week when asked about the payment.
“Michael is my attorney. You’ll have to ask Michael.”
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.
