Former federal judge appointed to sift through Cohen raid evidence

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge says she is appointing a former Manhattan federal judge to help determine which materials seized in raids on the home and office of President Donald Trump’s private attorney are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Judge Kimba Wood said at a hearing Thursday that Barbara Jones has the right amount of experience to handle the study of materials seized in the April 9 raids that targeted attorney Michael Cohen.

Jones was a federal judge in New York for 17 years before leaving for private practice five years ago.

The judge noted that the government and Cohen’s lawyers agreed that a so-called “special master” was the best way to determine which materials should be off-limits to federal investigators.

Prosecutors have said the raids resulted from an investigation into possible fraud.

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