Trump Rages Over FBI Raids Targeting His Longtime Lawyer

“Attorney-client privilege is dead!”

Jim Loscalzo/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

President Donald Trump continued to lash out over the FBI’s raids targeting his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, declaring on Twitter Tuesday morning that “attorney-client privilege is dead.”

The FBI reportedly seized documents related to Cohen’s $130,000 payout to Stormy Daniels, the porn star who claims she had an affair with Trump. Agents also collected “communications between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, which would most likely require a special team of agents to review because conversations between lawyers and clients are protected from scrutiny in most instances,” the New York Times reported. Specifically, the documents will be reviewed by a so-called “taint team” before they are provided to prosecutors.

In his tweet, the president appears to be contending that in going after Cohen’s communications with him, the bureau is violating his legal rights. In a statement Monday, Cohen’s lawyer Stephen Ryan condemned the FBI’s actions as “completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” but he stopped short of calling them illegal.

But legal experts say that the notion that the FBI may have unjustly violated attorney-client privilege is dubious at best and that the FBI’s conduct only highlights the gravity of the investigation. The FBI’s decision to execute the raids also appears to show that investigators had reason to believe the destruction of evidence could take place. Former US attorney and deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman told USA Today:

The only way the prosecution would be permitted to examine any material that might otherwise fall under the attorney-client umbrella is if it is determined to be part of crime jointly undertaken by the attorney and the client. But for the privilege to be nullified, Litman said the taint team would have to get the approval of the court to present the material to the prosecution. 

Shortly after the raid was conducted, Trump blasted the FBI’s moves as “disgraceful.” He told reporters. “It’s an attack on our country, in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for.” The president also appeared to float the idea of firing special counsel Robert Mueller, who apparently referred the Cohen case to prosectors.

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. The deadline’s almost here. Please help us reach our $150k membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. The deadline’s almost here. Please help us reach our $150k membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate