WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. special counsel in the Russia probe has evidence that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen traveled to Prague in 2016, refuting Cohen’s claim that he never visited the Czech capital and bolstering an intelligence dossier that first described the trip, McClatchy reported on Friday.
Investigators for Special Counsel Robert Mueller have evidence Cohen entered the Czech Republic through Germany in late summer 2016, McClatchy reported, citing two unnamed sources. The news agency said it was unclear whether Mueller’s investigators have evidence that Cohen met with a prominent Russian as the dossier claimed.
Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has said there was no collusion.
The special counsel and an attorney for Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
The dossier by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele alleged that Cohen met in Prague with Russians with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Cohen’s New York office and home this week, partly based on a referral from Mueller.
They were seeking information on payments made by Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels, who has said she had sex with Trump in 2006, a person familiar with the matter said.
Investigators have also looked for a possible broader pattern of fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and other crimes in Cohen’s private dealings, including his work for Trump and real estate purchased by Russian buyers, the person said.
(Reporting by Eric Beech)
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