Michael Cohen just got his butt handed to him by federal judge

Even as one major news outlet after another is reporting that Michael Cohen has decided to cut a plea deal against Donald Trump, there is still officially no deal in place – meaning that the criminal case against him continues. Today the federal judge in the case issued her final ruling on a key ongoing aspect of his defense, and let’s say that it’s just about the worst news possible for Cohen.

Donald Trump and Michael Cohen have both been pushing to get the evidence thrown out that had been seized by the FBI when it raided Cohen’s home and office, arguing that it was protected under attorney-client privilege. Prosecutors made the case that Cohen wasn’t legitimately acting as an attorney for Trump or anyone else. The judge ended up appointing a Special Master to sort through all of the communications and determine what could or could not be admitted into evidence. That ruling just came in.

The Special Master reviewed more than a quarter million pieces of evidence, including emails and other electronic and recorded conversations, and determined that only eight of them involved Cohen acting as someone’s attorney. Another hundred-plus communications involved someone else acting as Cohen’s attorney. Today the judge officially signed off on the Special Master’s findings. That means everything else is being admitted into evidence, and that federal prosecutors are about to get their hands on a treasure trove of evidence against Cohen and Trump.

Meanwhile, Michael Cohen continues to escalate his stance against Donald Trump. This week he resigned from the RNC in protest, citing Trump’s immigrant child camps. Last night he met with notorious Trump detractor Tom Arnold. Cohen seems to have already made up his mind to cut a plea deal against Trump. Today’s ruling should help push Cohen into a deal, as it means his already-slim chances of succeeding a trial just took a major hit.