Feds win access to records seized from ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen

Kevin McCoy | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Ethics head questions Trump lawyer reimbursement The head of the Office of Government Ethics says President Trump should have revealed his reimbursement to attorney Michael Cohen before the financial disclosure report released Wednesday. He passed along his concerns to federal prosecutors. (May 17)

Federal investigators will have access to most of the records seized from President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, as they pursue a criminal investigation of the New York attorney, court records show.

A court-appointed special master who reviewed the material after Cohen argued some of the records should be withheld on grounds of attorney-client privilege or privacy recommended releasing all but a fraction of the emails, phone messages, computer drives and other records to prosecutors.

Federal investigators for the Southern District of New York seized the records in April when they executed search warrants at Cohen's New York City home, business office and hotel room. They sought the material as part of an investigation of the lawyer's business dealings, including payments made to buy the silence of two women who claimed they had sexual affairs with Trump.

In her sixth report and recommendations, submitted on Thursday, the special master, former federal judge Barbara Jones, said she had concluded her review of the legal arguments over access to the roughly 4 million files.

Delivered to U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood, who is presiding over the issue, the filing continued a pattern in which Jones recommended that only a fraction of the material should be withheld. Along with Cohen, the recommendations applied to Trump and his business, the Trump Organization, because they intervened in the legal face-off over access to the records.

Lanny Davis, an attorney representing Cohen, issued a statement that said: "Under the advice of counsel, he is not able to comment on any matters even possibly remotely related to those that might be under investigation."

In late May, Jones released more than 1 million items seized from three of Cohen's phones to federal investigators after attorneys for either Cohen, Trump or the Trump organization did not claim the material was covered by attorney-client privilege or deem it to be highly personal.

Agreeing with designations by lawyers for the three parties, Jones in mid-June said that only 155 of 291,770 items that came from two Cohen phones and an iPad should be withheld from investigators.

Breaking down Michael Cohen's Trump Tower claims President Donald Trump denied Friday that he knew in advance about a critical meeting in Trump Tower in June, 2016, putting him at odds with the claims of his former attorney. AP Reporter Eric Tucker explains why it's significant. (July 27)

And in early July, Jones recommended released 1,310,365 records to federal investigators in a similar ruling.

However, in her second through sixth reports, Jones recommended blocking federal investigators from reviewing roughly 55 percent of the 13,643 records that attorneys for Cohen, Trump, or the Trump organization argued should be withheld because the material was personal or covered by attorney-client privilege.

Attorneys for Cohen objected to the release of 55 items but said they would not raise the objection with the court, the court filings show.

Although Cohen and Trump were once close associates, their relationship ruptured in recent months.

In July, Cohen reportedly said Trump knew about a pivotal Trump Tower meeting in 2016 to get damaging information about former secretary of state Hillary Clinton from a Russia-connected lawyer and others.

In July, Cohen publicly released a 2016 tape in which he and his-then-boss can be heard discussing a potential plan to buy the rights to a former Playboy model's story that she had had a sexual affair with Trump.

The tape included a reference to a man named David, who is believed to be David Pecker, the longtime Trump friend who is the CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company. The Enquirer paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for her story about an alleged 10-month affair between herself and Trump that began in 2006.

However, the tabloid magazine never published the story, and the plan to buy the rights to McDougal's story never materialized.

Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Cohen separately arranged a $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford — the porn star known as Stormy Daniels who said she'd had a sexual affair with Trump — in an effort to keep her from speaking out publicly.

Along with the Clifford and McDougal transactions, federal investigators are believed to be examining whether Cohen was involved in tax fraud and bank fraud, as well as whether the attorney made false statements on loan applications, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc