The FBI’s Raid On Michael Cohen Seized 16 Cell Phones
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By Aiden Pink April 29, 2018
Federal prosecutors seized up to 16 cell phones when they raided the home, office and hotel room of Trump lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen, the New York Post reported Friday.
During a hearing going over the plan of returning seized materials to Cohen and his lawyers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay told the court that they had already handed over four phones and an iPad, and would soon process “about a dozen” more.
Two of the devices seized were BlackBerrys, a brand that has not been popular in many years. This led the Post to speculate that Cohen had been hoarding old electronic devices for many years.
The lawyer representing Stormy Daniels, the porn star suing Cohen and President Trump over an alleged hush money agreement related to an affair, noted the phone issue with interest.
“Most interesting fact from today’s hearing IMO – FBI imaged 16 (by my count) cell phones and blackberries seized in MC raids. Usually not a good sign when the target appears to have saved old phones and there are that many phones recovered. BIGLY bad…for many,” attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted.
Cohen has said that he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the Daniels case.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
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