President Trump’s lawyers have asked a federal judge in New York to allow them to file challenges under seal to a special master’s review of documents seized from the home and offices of Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime attorney.
CNN reports that Trump’s lawyers made the request on Thursday as they seek to overturn a decision from the special master this week declaring as privileged just 162 items out of 292,409 items seized in raids of Cohen’s home and offices, with just three determined to be “highly personal.”
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Trump’s attorneys have sought to exert greater control over the documents and evidence seized from Cohen, which the president and his lawyers have characterized as an illegal search that violated attorney-client privilege.
Cohen is himself under investigation for bank fraud, possible campaign finance violations, and his ownership of dozens of New York City taxi medallions, according to news reports.
Trump’s lawyers did not indicate to CNN how many of the unprivileged documents Trump’s attorneys would seek to challenge as privileged.
Last week, the judge gave Cohen’s lawyers until June 15 to finish reviewing the 3.2 million items seized by FBI agents during their raids earlier this year.
FBI agents acted to seize documents and other items from the longtime Trump attorney after receiving a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.
Cohen has not been charged with a crime, and has denied wrongdoing.