Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen's banking records

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

By Beth Reinhard and Emma Brown May 9 at 12:55 PM

The Treasury Department’s inspector general is investigating whether confidential banking information related to a company controlled by President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen may have been leaked, a spokesman said.

Rich Delmar, counsel to the inspector general, said that in response to media reports the office is “inquiring into allegations” that Suspicious Activity Reports on Cohen’s banking transactions were “improperly disseminated.”

Detailed claims about Cohen’s banking history were made public Tuesday by Michael Avenatti, an attorney for Stormy Daniels, the adult-film star who was paid $130,000 by Cohen shortly before the 2016 election to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.

On Twitter, Avenatti circulated a dossier that purports to show that Cohen was hired last year by the U.S.-based affiliate of a Russian company owned by Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian business magnate who attended Trump’s inauguration and was recently subjected to sanctions by the U.S. government. The affiliate, New York investment firm Columbus Nova, confirmed the payment, saying it was for consulting on investments and other matters, but denied any involvement by Vekselberg.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/treasury-inspector-general-launches-probe-into-possible-leak-of-michael-cohens-banking-records/2018/05/09/d33c2010-5391-11e8-b00a-17f9fda3859b_story.html

[Freethinker65]

1. Give the leaker/whistleblower the medal of freedom

[yallerdawg]

2. Now THIS would be a whistleblower!

We really need one at the Internal Revenue Service.

[GusBob]

3. I knew this was gonna happen. Like clockwork

Here come the tweets here come the firings

Gonna be blamed on Obama holdovers

[Freethinker65]

6. It isn't going to work this time. The corporations admitted it.

A high crime was committed that lead to personal enrichment of the President. No classified information pertinent to national security (other than having a bribe taking traitor as President) was divulged. Mueller already had the information and got the answers a long time ago.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Oh FFS. Always investigating the wrong thing.

With bribery and money laundering right beneath their noses, Republicans want to punish the whistleblower. What the fuck is wrong with these people ???

[Perseus]

10. I will tell you what is wrong with these people

Actually, I am just going to give you one things that is wrong with these people, it would take too much time to list everything.

THEY ARE ALL IMPLICATED!

[ffr]

15. We're getting to see first hand how the mob operates to shut up do-gooders.

Republican voters should be shamed far and wide for the travesty they have weighted this country with.

But, if they continue to remain complicit with this type of activity when it works for them, come 2021, I'm okay with returning the favor IN SPADES!!!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

5. Joyce Vance on the Rachel last night......

Stated that it was likely Robert Mueller was already in possession of similar documents pretaining to Cohen's eXtra curricular activities.

[Wellstone ruled]

9. Part of the

Discovery Process. Most likely were in court fillings in the Stormy Case.

[hlthe2b]

7. So, beyond targeting a whistleblower, is this Trump's way of going after Avenatti?

--who clearly won't identify his source.... ???

[notdarkyet]

8. Cohen doesn't work for the government, so why is the treasury department involved?

[Ccarmona]

11. Because That Is What Putin Would Do. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Because one of the Treasury agencies uses the SARs to look for crimes

And guess what we seem to have here?

The federal government maintains the SARS reports.

https://www.fincen.gov/
https://www.fincen.gov/suspicious-activity-reports-sars

And the forms get filed here (different group) - https://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/pages_misc/forms.htm (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which is a conglomeration of federal/private financial entities including the FDIC & CFPB)


Leak could have happened anywhere it seems.

[haele]

12. Well, that's if there *was* a leak.

Wouldn't a search on a public shareholder's database for corporate expense filings filtered for Michael Cohen's LLC also come up with his name?
Especially if someone already has a public record that Novartis, AT&T, and other corporations and organizations had some sort of contact or contract with him in the first place?

It might take a bit of time and digging, but from what I learned getting a degree in Business, the same financial transaction is recorded by all entities that participate in it, because, well - Audits.

Haele

[blaze]

14. That's the impression I got

after one of Avenatti 's media spots...

I thought he said that this info was publicly available. And then he called Cohen stupid for using his own name in the documents.

[get the red out]

13. These pieces of SHIT

Take cover-up to the maximum extreme, worse than Nixon with the abuse of government authority.

[kentuck]

16. Kill the messenger?

Anything to prevent the truth from the people.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. Standard of this so-called administration: Investigate the leak, not the crime.

[Izzy Blue]

19. " Everyone's wondering how Michael Avenatti obtained his bombshell information on Michael Cohen"

snip:


"Steven Feldman, a former assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York who now works as a defense attorney, told Business Insider that Avenatti could have made a third-party-discovery request for the banking information in the pending California civil case between Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — and Cohen.

"If you are the plaintiff's attorney, once you file the civil complaint, you now have civil subpoena power in the case," he said. "Plaintiff's counsel could have made the request in March 2018 to the appropriate bank, and that would be enough time for him to get the information back now."



http://www.businessinsider.com/how-did-michael-avenatti-get-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-bank-information-2018-5

[Izzy Blue]

20. Wow! How did Avenatti get his hands on this?

Michael Avenatti
‏Verified account @MichaelAvenatti

"On April 9, the FBI raided Mr. Cohen’s home, office and hotel room. Within 48 hours, Mr. Cohen sent the below email to Mr. Davidson. Why? They had no ongoing legal matter at the time. Was it part of an attempt by Mr. Cohen to obstruct justice or worse? #basta"