Newly-released search warrant documents offer details on the federal inquiry into Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump‘s former lawyer.
The search warrant, while heavily redacted, looks into Cohen’s business dealings and the FBI raids of his Manhattan home and office.
The papers were released after U.S. District Judge William Pauley ordered federal prosecutors to make redacted versions public, in response to requests by various news media organizations.
WATCH: U.S. authorities had been seeking ex-Trump lawyer Cohen’s emails long before raids, warrants show
The filings showed how the FBI made extensive use of its access to Cohen’s Apple iCloud account, which allowed him to coordinate his work across several devices including an iPhone, iPad Mini and laptop.
Cohen ultimately pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
Here’s a look at some interesting insights the documents offer.
Investigation began 1 year before raid
The documents revealed that the federal inquiry into Michael Cohen had been going on since July 2017 — far longer than had previously been known.
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A big part of its focus was Cohen’s taxi businesses and misrepresentations he made to banks as part of a scheme to relieve himself of some $22 million in debt he owed on taxi medallion loans.
READ MORE: New York lawyer says Michael Cohen pardon talks are now the focus of a U.S. federal probe
Russian oligarch linked to Putin paid Cohen in monthly installments
Cohen concealed fees paid to Essential Consultants, a firm he controlled, including from international clients with issues pending before the Trump administration.
Among the payments Cohen was believed to have received was $600,000 from AT&T Inc. for consulting about “political issues, including net neutrality, the merger between AT&T and Time Warner and tax reform.”
Another $583,333 came from an investment firm linked to Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, the documents showed.
Vekselberg is known for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
WATCH: Cohen says Donald Trump is a racist, liar, cheat, conman
Device used to track Cohen
FBI agents said they used a device to track down Cohen’s location in April 2018.
They located a hotel room in New York’s Loews Regency Hotel where Cohen was staying by using a device known as a Triggerfish.
READ MORE: Trump claims Cohen directly asked for a pardon
By using technology that mimics cellphone towers to find a specific device, they figured out the hotel room number. The FBI raided the room soon after.
WATCH: White House says Cohen lied in recent testimony, won’t comment on if he asked for pardon
DVD seized is named “Cohen — 2018.03.07”
Among the items seized by federal prosecutors in Manhattan were two DVDs, CNN reported of the documents. While it’s unclear what the contents of the DVDs were, one was named “Cohen — 2018.03.07.”
March 7, 2018 is the same day news outlets, including the New York Times, reported Cohen had obtained a restraining order against Stormy Daniels.
— With files from Reuters, The Associated Press
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