Michael Cohen used same company for payment deals for two women

President Trump’s lawyers have filed a letter in the Michael Cohen case asking a federal judge to stop the review of materials seized in last week’s raids of Cohen’s office, CBS News’ Paula Reid reports.

In a court filing Sunday night, lawyers for Trump asked to be allowed to review documents that in any way relate to the president. The review will be done by the taint team, working with attorneys representing Cohen and President Trump, who has intervened in the dispute, using search terms to help organize the evidence.

Cohen will not be alone at that hearing, scheduled for 2 p.m. today: In tweets over the weekend, a lawyer for Stephanie Clifford, the porn star better known as Stormy Daniels, said Clifford would be there too, setting up a remarkable face-to-face confrontation.

Cohen was under scrutiny even prior to the unsealing of the filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, highlighted by the coverage of an Federal Bureau of Investigation raid of his New York City office, hotel room and residence. Prosecutors say they are investigating Cohen’s personal business activities, but haven’t said what law they think he’s broken. Outside afterward, she said Cohen has acted like he’s above the law and that she and her lawyer are committed to making sure everyone learns the truth.

Federal prosecutors revealed Friday said the criminal investigation had been going on for months.

President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen rebuked a McClatchy DC report that there’s evidence he traveled to Prague and claimed there’s proof he was in Los Angeles, California, at the time. With the GOP finding no evidence that then-candidate Trump colluded with Russian Federation in the lead-up to the election, Cohen took the opportunity to blast mainstream outlets. The FBI raids also sought information that included payments allegedly made to keep women silent about affairs with Trump more than a decade ago. “Attorney client privilege is dead”, he exclaimed. The president has denied any knowledge of the payment to secure Daniels’ October 2016 signature on a hush agreement preventing her from talking about the liaison. Stormy Daniels plans to attend the hearing, her attorney Michael Avenatti told CNN this weekend.

U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood wrestled in court Monday with the correct way to determine whether materials seized from Cohen’s home, office and hotel room involved privileged communications between Cohen and his clients.

Cohen’s legal team are requesting a temporary restraining order from a USA federal judge in Manhattan that would prevent prosecutors from reviewing at least some of the material.

“I checked and the weather forecast for Monday looks very Stormy”, Avenatti cryptically tweeted. Wood requested that his lawyers present Cohen’s client list before then, as she decides whether the material seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation would infringe on attorney-client privilege of any other potential clients. Attorneys for Cohen say they want first crack.

“I do think there’s a chance, that because the president is involved, that the judge is going to take extraordinary measures to make sure that this process was properly implemented”, Kimberly Wehle, a former assistant USA attorney, told NPR’s Morning Edition on Monday. “All lawyers are deflated and concerned”.

“The privilege-holder should be permitted to review the materials for privilege in the first instance”, Trump’s attorney Joanna Hendon wrote ahead of a Monday afternoon hearing.