FBI sought Trump's communications with Cohen over 'Access Hollywood'

The FBI sought communications that Donald Trump had with his personal lawyer Michael Cohen over the "Access Hollywood" tape that captured the President making lewd remarks about women a month before the 2016 election, a media report said.

The communications were sought by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who raided Cohen's home, office and hotel on Monday, informed sources told CNN late Wednesday.

The FBI warrant's specific reference to Trump is the first known direct mention of the President in a search warrant, and the sources said it appeared in connection with "Access Hollywood".

The search warrant sought communications between Trump and his associates regarding efforts to prevent disclosure of the tape.

In addition, investigators wanted records and communications concerning other potential negative information about Trump that the campaign would have wanted to contain ahead of the election.

The warrant is the first indication that investigators suspect there was any effort to suppress the tape. It was not immediately clear if Cohen played any role in the controversy.

The circumstances of the leaked Access Hollywood tape remain a mystery, reports CNN.

NBCUniversal, which produces "Access", has long held that it was about to broadcast the tape when The Washington Post obtained and published it.

According to the network, the tape sat on a shelf for years before being discovered during the late stages of the presidential election.

It is unknown how many people at NBC had access to the tape.

The Washington Post published the video on October 7, 2016. That same day, the Obama administration accused the Russian government of hacking the Democratic National Committee and meddling in the presidential election.

Soon after, The Post published the Access Hollywood tape and then WikiLeaks began publishing stolen emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta within an hour of the tape's release.

--IANS

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