New York, April 10: The FBI has raided the office of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen and seized documents related to porn star Stormy Daniels along with other bank records, the media reported.
Cohen is a longtime ally of the President, and admitted earlier this year to setting up a limited liability company in 2016 to pay Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006 that the White House has denied.
His attorney Stephen Ryan told CNN that the US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York on Monday had executed "a series of search warrants" including at his office, and "seized the privileged communications" between Cohen and his clients.
The Monday raids included the Loew's Regency hotel where Cohen has been staying. There were approximately a dozen Federal Bureau of Investigation agents involved.
The FBI also seized emails, tax documents and business records, including communications between Trump and Cohen.
Ryan called the search "completely inappropriate and unnecessary", and said federal prosecutors had told him it stemmed partially from a referral by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller.
"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," Ryan said in the statement.
"It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients.
"These government tactics are also wrong because Cohen has cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath."
Trump slammed the move as a "disgraceful situation" and "an attack on our country", reports CNN.
A White House official said Trump had been watching TV reports, and that the President knew about the raid before the news broke.
"This is ridiculous. This is now getting ridiculous," Trump said Monday, pointing to a "whole new level of unfairness".
Michael Avenatti, Daniels' attorney, responded to the news on Twitter, saying "an enormous amount of misplaced faith has been placed" on Cohen's shoulders.
Mueller's office and Justice Department have not yet commented on the Monday raids.
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New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI): BJP's Parvesh Verma, who defeated former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency, said the party's leadership will decide the next chief minister of Delhi.
Parvesh Verma, former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma's son, also thanked people and called it "the victory of the people of the national capital".
"This is not just my victory, this is the victory of the people of Delhi, who chose truth over lies, governance over gimmicks, and development over deception. I humbly thank every voter who placed their trust in me.
"Under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP national president JP Nadda, we will work tirelessly to bring a real change in Delhi. This mandate is a clear message that people want honest, transparent, and development-driven politics. My commitment to serve with integrity and dedication remains unwavering," Verma said.
Verma, former MP of West Delhi constituency, further said that a "new chapter began for Delhi" and together, "we will build a brighter future."
Verma alleged that Kejriwal did not work in Delhi in last 11 years.
"All the work was on paper and advertisements. The people of Delhi have shown their faith in Modi. This is the win of Modi's work he has done in Delhi and country. I thank Nadda, Shah and the party leadership which brought a good manifesto. The priority would be cleaning the Yamuna river, pollution level in Delhi, giving employment, removing traffic congestion, work in villages as well as colonies etc," he added.
AAP national convener Kejriwal lost the New Delhi seat to Verma by a margin of 4,089 votes. Kejriwal won this seat in 2013, 2015, and 2020.