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FBI raids on the office, home and hotel room of President Trump's attorney Michael Cohen have brought Special Counsel Robert Mueller closer to the White House than ever before. Mueller is reported to have referred the investigation of Cohen to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York – a Trump appointee. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was also handpicked by Trump, personally signed off on the raid.

The Washington Post reports that federal prosecutors investigating Cohen are seeking records related to two women who received payments in 2016 after alleging affairs with Trump years before. Cohen was also named deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee a year ago.

Trump called the investigation "an attack on our nation" and when asked if he was considering firing Mueller on Monday, he responded: “I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens. Many people have said, ‘You should fire him.’” Senate Republican leaders have sharply warned Trump not to fire Mueller. Earlier Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Sanders said publicly that Trump believes he has the power to do so.

Amidst the latest scandal, the president has cancelled a planned trip to Latin America on Friday, citing the current crisis in Syria.