Michael Cohen's attorney told a federal judge on Friday that his client could be indicted on federal charges within 90 days and asked for a delay in a lawsuit by adult-film actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair with President Donald Trump.
The attorney, Brent Blakely, asked U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles to delay the hearing because the Daniels case could jeopardize his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to news reports.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, sued last month to end a non-disclosure agreement related to a $130,000 payment she received from Cohen, before the 2016 election, to keep quiet about her alleged relationship with Trump a decade earlier.
But Otero said that he needed more time to consider the request because "there's some gaping holes" in it.
Blakely had asked that the Daniels case be put on hold for 90 days.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating Cohen's business dealings, after FBI agents last week seized documents from Cohen's Manhattan offices relating to the Daniels payment and other issues.
Agents were armed with search warrants based in part on information provided by Russia special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators.
President Trump has slammed the raid as a "disgrace" and ripped it on Twitter:
Lawyers for both Trump and Cohen have said that the U.S. attorney's probe overlaps the Daniels civil matter.
Allowing the case to proceed, they contend, could impair Cohen's constitutional right under the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and make it harder for President Trump to defend himself.
During Friday's hearing, Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said that Cohen presumably "knows where a lot of bodies are buried," and that the defense strategy has left his client "in a room of darkness" in a case of "critical importance" to the public.
Blakely countered by estimating that Avenatti had made 53 public appearances discussing Daniels' case.
"Quite frankly, I can't think of any situation they haven't talked," he said, drawing courtroom laughter.
Blakely also suggested a 40-day stay, but Otero noted that the sides remained far apart.
"We're almost like two ships passing in the night," the lawyer said.
Otero did not indicate when he would rule.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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