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Trump Organization Probe Team Gains a Lawyer, Loses Two

Trump Organization Probe Team Gains a Lawyer, Loses Two

(Bloomberg) -- The team of New York federal prosecutors probing the Trump Organization gained a new attorney, as two of the lawyers who wrested a guilty plea from Michael Cohen are moving on.

Rachel Maimin, who had been the longest-tenured member of the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office on the Cohen team, left this month for Lowenstein Sandler LLP’s New York office. And Andrea Griswold, who had been on loan from the securities-fraud group, returned to that office, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile Rebekah Donaleski, a prosecutor in the terrorism and international narcotics unit, has moved over to join the public corruption unit that has been overseeing the case, as well as the prosecution team as it now moves into the next phase of the investigation. Recently, Donaleski was part of the team that won a conviction of attempted Manhattan subway bomber Akayed Ullah, as well as mercenary Joseph Hunter.

It is hard to infer any specific meaning about the status of the probe from personnel changes to the team leading it. While it might suggest that any further action is some ways off, that’s not necessarily the case. People come and go from cases -- and the office in general -- for all manner of reasons. In Maimin’s case, she had been in the office for nine years, close to the outer bounds of when people typically leave for private practice.

Thomas McKay and Nicolas Roos, who were part of the original group that prosecuted Cohen, remain on the team, which is now said to be looking at whether others in the Trump Organization helped commit campaign finance violations to President Donald Trump’s campaign.

The probe continues to be overseen by Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami, who assumed responsibility for it after Geoffrey Berman, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney, recused himself because of a conflict. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined comment.

Lowenstein Sandler didn’t respond to a request for comment but Maimin’s profile already appears on its staff page and lists her as partner.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

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