The woman who will first review materials seized from President Donald Trump’s lawyer spent about 17 years as a federal judge and also worked as a prosecutor.
Barbara Jones, 70, was appointed Thursday to sift through material seized on April 9 by the FBI from the premises and electronic devices of Michael Cohen, a longtime Trump attorney.
Jones will decide what records may contain communications protected by attorney-client privilege, making them off-limits to prosecutors. Her determinations may help shape the direction of a criminal investigation that prosecutors have said is focused on Cohen’s personal business and financial dealings.
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood chose Jones after prosecutors said they would agree to the use of a so-called special master. Jones was not among the seven names proposed by federal prosecutors and defense lawyers for Cohen.
Jones was appointed to the federal bench in the Southern District of New York by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and served until the end of 2012. She works now at Bracewell LLP.
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