Editor’s Note: NBC originally reported that federal prosecutors had “wiretapped” Michael Cohen’s phone lines, but they later scaled that back to simply logging Cohen’s calls—known as keeping a “pen register” of them—which reveals whom Cohen is contacting but not the content of the calls.
Remember that phone call Donald Trump placed to Michael Cohen on the morning their lawyers went to a New York court house to argue that attorney-client privilege covered "thousands, if not millions" of documents seized in that FBI raid? Well, not looking so smart for Trump. NBC writes:
Federal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for President Donald Trump who is under investigation for a payment he made to an adult film star who alleged she had an affair with Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the legal proceedings involving Cohen.
It is not clear how long the wiretap has been authorized, but NBC News has learned it was in place in the weeks leading up to the raids on Cohen's offices, hotel room, and home in early April, according to one person with direct knowledge.
At least one phone call between a phone line associated with Cohen and the White House was intercepted, the person said.
Just wow. Can you even imagine what kind of evidence federal prosecutors had in order to get authorization for a wiretap of Cohen's phone?
Responding to the revelation on MSNBC, attorney Michael Avenatti said he understood that the wiretap included email, phone, and text message communications. Asked if he was speculating, Avenatti responded: “I'm not speculating, that's a fact.”
Thursday, May 3, 2018 · 5:44:31 PM +00:00 · Kerry Eleveld
UPDATE 2: Trump was advised not to call Cohen and, as we know, didn’t heed that advice.
After the raid, members of Trump's legal team advised the president not to speak to Cohen, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Two sources close to Trump's newest attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, say he learned that days after the raid the president had made a call to Cohen, and told Trump never to call again out of concern the call was being recorded by prosecutors.