Reply to Ronan Farrow reports: Missing Files Motivated the Leak of Michael Cohen’s Financial Records

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[quote=Anonymous]Seems as if the person who leaked these files may be in big trouble.  The files were not deleted - they were hidden.  
I am sure the treasury dept. will also look into how Avenatti got access to the records.

[quote]The mysterious law enforcement official behind the leak of confidential documents on Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s business dealings is facing new pressure as sources debunk his rationale for leaking -- and one report suggests it won't be long before he's caught.

The leaker could face up to five years in jail if identified and prosecuted.

The individual, who has not been named, came forward in an interview with The New Yorker on Wednesday, taking responsibility for disclosing records that show Cohen used a shell company to receive payments from firms seeking access to the Trump administration -- including AT&T and a New York-based investment firm linked to a Russian oligarch.

The official told The New Yorker he did it out of concern over allegedly missing files. The documents in question are known as “suspicious activity reports,” or SARs, and were filed by a bank that Cohen used. Banks are required to file such reports when they notice transactions that may break the law -- and such records can be accessed by law enforcement.

The leaker claimed that two SARs detailing more than $3 million in additional transactions were missing from the database maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN).

“I have never seen something pulled off the system,” the official reportedly said. “That’s why I came forward.”

But it now seems the files were merely restricted, not missing.

A FinCEN spokesperson, without directly citing the Cohen records, undercut the leaker's story in a statement on Thursday -- explaining that the agency can limit access to certain records when asked by law enforcement.

“Under longstanding procedures, FinCEN will limit access to certain SARs when requested by law enforcement authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation,” a FinCEN spokesperson said.

Fox News has learned that FinCEN limits access to SARs but does not delete or remove them from the database. In such cases, users trying to view a restricted file are told that it is unavailable for viewing at that time.

Further, BuzzFeed confirmed that Treasury Department officials restricted access to those files and did not remove them.

This revelation undercuts the narrative that the files’ absence should have set off alarm bells -- a claim that had already been initially greeted by skepticism from some experts, who noted that banks keep records of transactions anyway. 
The leaker’s future may be bleak. Bloomberg reported late Thursday that his identity is unlikely to remain secret for long.
Experts told the outlet that anyone accessing FinCEN leaves an audit trail, so whoever searched for those associated with Cohen likely left a traceable digital record. [/quote]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/05/18/cohen-record-leaker-could-face-jail-as-sources-debunk-missing-file-claim.html[/quote]

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