| NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s former fixer and personal lawyer Michael Cohen bought a $6.7 million apartment in a brand new Manhattan skyscraper less than a week before FBI agents raided his home, office and hotel room in April, according to records and reports.
Cohen, who is under criminal investigation over potential bank fraud and campaign finance violations, took out a $3.5 million mortgage on a four-bedroom, 19th-floor unit at 111 Murray Street on April 3, according to real estate records and listings. The mortgage was provided by the skyscraper’s developers, Fisher Brothers, Witkoff and New Valley. Howard Lorber, the head of New Valley, and Steve Witkoff, the founder of Witkoff, are both longtime friends of Trump. People familiar with the deal reportedly told the The Wall Street Journal that Cohen took the unusual step of securing a mortgage from the developers because he was having a hard time buying the unit via more traditional means because the building had not yet met city requirements. The swanky TriBeca apartment building features a private dining room, a Turkish bath, a 75-foot swimming pool, an arcade room, a fitness center and a service that offers to book private planes, according to real estate site StreetEasy. Cohen did not respond to a request for comment. Six days after Cohen secured the mortgage on the 2,697-square-foot unit, FBI agents stormed into his Midtown apartment, hotel room and office and seized a cache of records, including communications between him and Trump. The raid was the result of a federal investigation out of the Southern District of New York. Among other matters, the investigation focuses on whether Cohen violated campaign finance laws by paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election in exchange for her promising not to go public with claims she had sex with Trump in 2006. Cohen, 51, has not been charged with any crimes and Trump claims he never slept with Daniels. Cohen recently contracted veteran lawyer Lanny Davis to represent him in the federal probe. Since hiring Davis, Cohen has cut all ties with Trump — and signaled he’s willing to cooperate with investigators. “My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Cohen said after ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked him on July 2 if he’s still loyal to Trump. “I put family and country first.” |
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e-mail writer: CSommerfeldt@nydailynews.com |
