FBI probing Cohen's 'personal business dealings'

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer and so-called fixer, did not appear in court Friday, but lawyers repressing him, the president, and even Stormy Daniels did. The central question was: who gets to review the information seized in Monday's FBI raid of Cohen's office, apartment, and hotel room?

In a court filing, federal prosecutors said that their criminal probe is focused on Cohen's "personal business dealings."

Cohen is claiming that his lawyers—and not the government—should be allowed to wade through all the materials seized in the FBI raid to decide what is and what isn't privileged information.

The investigators who carried out the searchers were reportedly looking for documents regarding payments Cohen made to silence women ahead of the 2016 election. One of those women is adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, was in court Friday. He told reporters that his client's documents were seized and that they want the process to be "public" and "open."

Because Cohen is the president's personal lawyer, his communications with Trump are now in the hands of federal investigators. Cohen's lawyers argue they should get the first crack at the seized documents, but Avenatti disagreed.

Angry after the raid, the president tweeted "Attorney-client privilege is dead." That is why a lawyer representing Trump said in court that the president has "acute interest in these proceedings."

Cohen recorded many of his conversations with clients, according to some reports. If that is true, then federal investigators likely have those, too.

U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood on Friday ordered Cohen to appear in court next week to answer questions about his law practice.

With the AP