On Monday, surrounded by military and national security leaders, President Trump said that the New York federal prosecutor's office had launched "an attack on our country" and "an attack on what we all stand for" by ordering an FBI raid on his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen, and suggested he might fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller and/or Attorney General Jeff Sessions. But he was angrier in private, White House sources tell The Washington Post, The Associated Press, and other news organizations.
Trump found out about the raids on Cohen's office and residences late Monday morning, and "caught off guard and furious with the encroaching inquiry, the president showed a flare of temper watching cable news coverage of the raid Monday afternoon," AP reports. Trump also complained frequently about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, The Washington Post adds, "and stewed all afternoon about the warrant to seize Cohen's records ... and asked detailed questions about who was behind the move."
There are several reason this is different that Mueller's indictments of other people in Trump's orbit. First, the investigation is from the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, whom Trump appointed. Second, it reportedly includes Cohen's $130,000 payment to porn star and purported Trump paramour Stormy Daniels in October 2016, exposing Trump to a raft of potential new criminal charges. But mostly, it's because "Cohen is Trump's virtual vault — the keeper of his secrets, from his business deals to his personal affairs," the Post explains. Jeffrey Toobin elaborated on CNN Tuesday morning:
"This search warrant is like dropping a bomb on Trump's front porch," former U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance tells the Post. "This strikes at the inner sanctum: your lawyer, your CPA, your barber, your therapist, your bartender," adds Washington attorney Mark Zaid. "All the people who would know the worst about you." If Cohen was involved in shady business, Trump may not be able to count on attorney-client privilege, either.