The raid Monday came after federal prosecutors in Manhattan got a search warrant after a referral from special counsel Robert S. Mueller, who is looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, among other issues. The Times said the search did not appear to be directly related to Mueller’s investigation, but likely resulted from information he found and shared with the New York prosecutors.
"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," Stephen Ryan, Cohen’s lawyer, told The Times. "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."