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Lawyers for Cohen and Trump had said that some of the seized
materials were protected by attorney-client privilege, which
would stop prosecutors from using them. Barbara Jones, a former
federal judge, had been tasked with vetting those claims of
privilege.
The end of Jones' review came about two weeks after CNN reported
that Cohen was willing to tell Special Counsel Robert Mueller
that Trump knew in advance about a June 2016 meeting involving
his son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer, which Trump has denied.
The report, along with public statements by Cohen, has raised
the possibility that Cohen might seek a plea deal and cooperate
with Mueller against the president.
Cohen has not been charged with any crime.
Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating him for
possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law
violations linked to a $130,000 payment to adult film star
Stormy Daniels, a person familiar with the investigation has
told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that
prosecutors were also probing whether Cohen committed tax fraud
in relation to his taxi-medallion business.
The investigation stems from a referral from Mueller, who is
looking into possible coordination between Trump 2016 campaign
aides and Russia. Trump has said there was "no collusion" with
Russia and repeatedly called the probe a "witch hunt."
Out of more than 4 million items seized by authorities in raids
on Cohen's home, office and hotel room in April, fewer than
8,000 have been deemed privileged by Jones, according to court
filings. Cohen's and Trump's lawyers had sought to shield
several thousand additional items from prosecutors' review, but
will not dispute Jones' findings in court, the filings said.
Lawyers for Cohen and Trump did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
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