BREAKING: FBI Raids Office Of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This informational nugget was sent to me by Ben Shapiro, who represents the Daily Wire, and since this is one of the most topical news events, it should be published on BCN.

    On Monday afternoon, the FBI raided President Trump's personal lawyer's office. Michael Cohen, who has represented Trump for years and reportedly paid porn actress and alleged Trump paramour Stormy Daniels some $130,000 to keep her mouth shut before the election, found himself on the wrong end of the FBI's radar, according to The New York Times:

    Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen's lawyer, who called the search "completely inappropriate and unnecessary." The search does not appear to be directly related to Mr. Mueller's investigation, but likely resulted from information he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York. "Today the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients," said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. "I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller."

    The FBI reportedly grabbed Cohen's emails, tax documents, and business records as well - including communications between Trump and Cohen.

    So, what in the hell does this mean?

    First off, it means something serious is going on. As lawyer Ken White wrote on Twitter:

    A federal search of an attorney's office is a Very Big Deal, requiring layers of approval, including at DoJ. See USAM 9-13.420 https://www.justice.gov/usam/usam-9-13000-obtaining-evidence ...

    Second, it may mean a second investigation into Team Trump, since the article talks about Mueller referring the raid to the U.S. attorney's office in Southern District of New York. That could very well be about the possibility of campaign finance violations separate from the Russia investigation. Trump has claimed no relationship with the payment by Cohen to Daniels.