Trump says raid on his lawyer abuses attorney-client privilege

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents have raided the office of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, seizing records on topics that include a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump.

The raid prompted a new blast Tuesday from the president, who tweeted that “Attorney-client privilege is dead!”

A furious Trump, who in the last month has escalated his attacks on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, said Monday from the White House that it was a “disgrace” that the FBI “broke into” his lawyer’s office.

He called Mueller’s investigation “an attack on our country,” prompting new speculation that he might seek the removal of the Justice Department’s special counsel.

The raid was overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan and was based in part on a referral from Mueller, said Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan.

“The decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” Ryan said in a statement.

“It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney-client communications between a lawyer and his clients.”

The raid creates a new legal headache for Trump as he and his attorneys weigh whether to agree to an interview with Mueller’s team, which in addition to investigating potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign is also examining whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice.

And the law enforcement action will almost certainly amplify the public scrutiny on the payment to Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006.

The payment was made just days before the 2016 presidential election.

Trump told reporters last week that he did not know about it.