The identity of Michael D. Cohen's mysterious third client was revealed Monday to be the Fox News host Sean Hannity.
The dramatic legal twist came to light as Cohen’s lawyers tried to delay prosecutors from sifting through records that the FBI seized in its surprise raid of his office and hotel earlier this month. The attorneys initially tried to keep Hannity’s name out of the proceedings on the grounds that he would be embarrassed. But that argument didn't convince Judge Kimba Wood.
“I understand he doesn’t want his name out there, but that’s not enough under the law,” said Wood, forcing Cohen’s attorneys to reveal the name of his client. It’s unclear what kinds of legal services Cohen provided Hannity.
The judge also rejected the defense's request to review the seized files before prosecutors.
Hannity, a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump, tried to distance himself from Cohen on his radio show Monday.
“Michael never represented me in any matter,” he said. “But I have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions.” He did not elaborate on the nature of those matters.
Prior to Monday's revelation, Cohen had disclosed that he provided legal services for three clients in the past year.
One of them is Trump, who allegedly had an affair with the adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2006. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about the sexual encounter as part of a non-disclosure agreement that Daniels is currently challenging in court.
Cohen’s other client is Elliot Broidy, a prominent GOP fundraiser who used Cohen to negotiate a $1.6 million payoff for a Playboy model he had impregnated. After news of that affair broke last week, Broidy was forced to resign as deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee.
Cohen also serves as a deputy finance chair at the RNC, but the political organization is so far not irked by the recent slew of negative press.
“We stand behind Michael Cohen,” the RNC spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told Cheddar’s J.D. Durkin hours before Cohen's hearing.
“We don’t weigh in to legal matters. He stands with us, he has been a great ally of this president, and he’s still at the RNC,” she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-rnc-fires-back-after-james-comey-interview).
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
