Hannity was Cohen's client

New York

A legal fight over what should happen to records the FBI seized from President Donald Trump's personal attorney took a surprise twist Monday when the lawyer, Michael Cohen, was forced to reveal a secret — that he had also done legal work for Fox News host Sean Hannity.

The disclosure came as a New York judge disappointed a lawyer for Trump by letting prosecutors proceed with the cataloguing of evidence, including multiple electronic devices that were seized in raids, while a system is set up to ensure that records protected by attorney-client privilege aren't disclosed to investigators.

Lawyers for Cohen and prosecutors both had reason to claim success after three hours of arguments before U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, who said she may appoint a special master, a neutral lawyer, to help decide which materials should stay confidential.

Wood denied a request by Trump's lawyer, Joanna Hendon, that the president and Cohen get the first crack at designating which documents should be off-limits to investigators.

Hannity's name emerged after the judge pressed Cohen to divulge the names of the clients he's worked with since the 2016 election, whose privileged communications might be contained within his files.

Cohen's legal team said he had just three clients in 2017 and 2018. One was Trump. Another was Elliott Broidy, a Trump fundraiser who resigned from the Republican National Committee on Friday after it was revealed that he paid $1.6 million to a Playboy Playmate with whom he had an extramarital affair. The Playmate became pregnant and elected to have an abortion.

Cohen's lawyers resisted revealing the name of the third client, saying it would be embarrassing and unnecessary. Plus, the client had specifically asked for privacy.

"I understand he doesn't want his name out there, but that's not enough under the law," Wood said, after hearing legal arguments from Robert Balin, a lawyer for five news organizations, including The Associated Press.

When the name was announced, there were gasps and some laughter in a courtroom packed with journalists.

Cohen's lawyers did not detail the type of legal work he did for Hannity.