Records tied to 'Access Hollywood' tapes sought in FBI's Michael Cohen raids, NYT reports

William Cummings | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Cohen seen leaving hotel amid investigation Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, was seen leaving a New York hotel on Wednesday. On Monday morning, federal agents raided his room in the hotel, along with his home and office. (April 11)

The FBI sought records on the infamous Access Hollywood audio recording of President Trump boasting about sexual assault during a raid on the office and hotel room of Trump's personal attorney, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Three unnamed sources, whom the Times said had been "briefed on the contents" of the warrant for Monday's raid, said documents related to the tape were explicitly mentioned as a target of the search. Evidence that attorney Michael Cohen made payments ahead of the 2016 election to silence women alleging they had affairs with Trump was also a focus of the search.

In the 2005 recording, Trump talked about pursuing a married woman and bragged about being able to grope women because of his fame. "When you're a star, they let you do it," Trump said.

Trump initially dismissed this recording as "locker room talk" but later apologized for the comments and said the words "don't reflect who I am."

Raw: Trump brags about groping women in 2005 video Donald Trump is under fire after a video from 2005 surfaced in which he can be heard making lewd comments about women.

The Times said it was not clear what connection Cohen had to the tape, if any.

Cohen has said he took out a home loan to pay porn actress $130,000 weeks ahead of the election to keep quiet about her allegations that Trump had an affair with her while he was married to Melania Trump.

Cohen has long worked as Trump's attorney and "fixer," helping go after his client's enemies and silence his critics.

More: Who is Michael Cohen? Some see Trump's lawyer as overzealous bully. Team Trump sees an undying loyalist.

More: What about attorney-client privilege? How the FBI can obtain a warrant for Cohen's office