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FBI Raids Trump Lawyer’s Office
The FBI has raided the office of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. From the New York Times:
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” The search does not appear to be directly related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation, but likely resulted from information he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York.
“Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”
Mr. Cohen plays a role in aspects of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also recently said he paid $130,000 to a pornographic-film actress, Stephanie Clifford, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Ms. Clifford is known as Stormy Daniels.
This investigation has gone from “Trump colluded with Putin to steal American democracy” to “Trump diddled a porn star” in about a year. Hopefully Mueller will wrap up this investigation soon.
What do you think, Ricochetti? Is this big or blah?
Published in General
There is a specific legal issue here over something that started over a decade ago. Trump got elected after Soros, Clinton, the DNC, the 527s, etc. threw a zillion dollars at trying to frame Trump on this type of thing.
Cohen likely committed bank fraud when he borrowed money to shut up Stormy Daniels.
What did Trump do that was so horrible? I say nothing that plenty of POTUS’s aren’t already notorious for.
Trump isn ‘t a “dirt bag” in terms of enabling crony-istic government, ruining people’s lives with government like True the Vote or Fast and Furious, ruining economy’s productivity like Obama did, lying about the ACA, or shoving cultural marxism down our throats. The “dirt bags” are everywhere in this sense and no one in the GOP did jack about it on net. So we got Trump. Is this ideal? Hell no! but the RNC wasn’t ready to deal with 17 candidates or the understandable changes in the electorate. Hell, Bernie should have been their candidate if they weren’t more overtly Ruling Class criminal in how they operate.
We have a system that is collapsing due to Keynesianism and Cultural Marxism and far too many are freaking out about what is, in effect, small stuff.
I say again, the RNC had no plan to deal with any of this to have Cruz or whoever to be the candidate
Are you serious?
https://twitter.com/Oil_Guns_Merica/status/983440932359036928
would it be one mulligan for doing number one on a bed, or would it necessitate two mulligans for the two hookers?
I’m sick about this. Cohen as an attorney is an officer of the court. Why didn’t they subooena any non-privileged communications they have a right to see? This is an attack on the attorney-client relationship. It’s an attempt to isolate Trump. I agree with him, it’s “disgraceful”.
And I agree with whoever commented that this is just a ploy to get, and leak, privileged communications.
To the death, I agree. However OldB, you impune the reputation of Ahab, an honest working whaling captain who has lost his way. No, I think this Mueller creature is far more diabolical.
“I can smile and murder while I smile.”
Regards,
Jim
The campaign finance irregularities. here, are pretty tame compared to Obama if I recall correctly.
The IRS has been giving Trump a never ending colonoscopy for many years; Soros, the DNC, Clinton et. al. threw everything they had at him.
Trump is a germophobe. The thought of prostitutes peeing on a bed probably disgusts him.
Plus he knows he’s under surveillance.
The problem here is that Mr. Cohen has said publicly that he did not pay Ms. Daniels on behalf of his client, Mr. Trump, so that complicates claiming attorney-client privilege.
If he claims privilege, that implicates Trump. Also, Trump said last week he was not aware of the payment to Ms. Daniels, which makes it harder to claim privilege.
How did it come to this?
What is the over/under on billionaires that cannot be written into that structure with just as much certainty as used above? Bonus points for the best entry using “Warren Buffett” as the target. (Gasp! How could I even suggest such a thing?)
Why, why and why?
Warren Buffett is the rent seeker from hell, but people think Trump has ruined The Republic.
That is a perfect example of what is really going on.
Why did Mr. Cohen say anything about this payment? I don’t know. It was stupid.
Why did Trump say he didn’t know anything about this payment, I don’t know.
Why does any of this affect attorney-client privelege?
Too many of you guys want something to believe in. Give it up. Trade and free association, which is the only thing that works, got screwed a million years ago, so you are here.
It came to this because of people like your interlocutor here, who don’t like the choice the American people made.
I’m happy to bring other lawyers into this (because I am not an attorney), but it is my understanding that what is privileged is the advice an attorney gives a client and communications between an attorney and his client.
If an attorney does something on his own rather than on behalf of the client, what is the privilege?
You might get this, along with numerous indictments of federal law enforcement officials for joining first, a political campaign(a Hatch Act violation), then obstruction of justice in failing to legitimately investigate Clinton mishandling of classified material and perjury for lies under oath, among other charges. Who do you think is better in that circumstance, a dirtbag President executing his duties well or scores of dirty lawyers violating their oaths of office?
What’s privileged are the communications between the attorney and the client. Which were apparently included in what was just seized by the government.
The raided the office and home of the president’s private counsel. That’s my point. Why not just subpoena from Cohen any and all communications between Cohen and Porny Daniels (not his client)? And similarly, any and all communications between him and Hope Hicks, if that’s what they want? This gestapo tactic is unnecessary and abusive. They have undoubtedly hoovered up privileged communications they have no right to see, which will, of course, be leaked.
I only hope we will see Hillary and Lynch dragged outta bed at dawn, the wind whipping their tatty old I’m-With-Her T-shirts up around their oval orifices. And I hope we will see similar “raids” on the homes and offices of any counsel they are consulting.
I deplore the attack on the attorney-client relationship, but, since it has been breached, those bozos on the Left oughta feel the shock of the assault.
Are porn stars that different? What are the odds he hasn’t bought prostitutes? Heck man, even when they aren’t he tries to turn them into prostitutes by giving them money afterwards. Did you not read the accounts of Stormy and that other lady?
They aren’t privileged if the client is discussing breaking the law with the attorney. The documents would go to a special team of lawyers separate from the DA who would go through the records and only give to the DA none privileged material. Or so the legal experts are saying. But, this Stormy thing is better than that. Because Trump himself has said that he didn’t know anything about the NDA which means either he is lying about that, or he isn’t in which case Cohen could not have been representing him on it and so their communications about it aren’t privileged because Trump wasn’t his Client in the matter. But that means Cohen was pretending to represent Trump falsely in the NDA negotiations, which has to be criminal certainly unethical.
Not in Russia. He was under surveillance and the KGB was trying to entrap him the whole time and he knew it. Everyone that is famous or powerful is in that situation when they go over there. This is basic stuff.
As long as I get to keep my tax cut, I don’t care.
How do you know what was seized?
If privileged communications were seized, that is a problem, but if they seized information related to the potentially non-privileged payment to Daniels, that may not be a problem.
I’ve seen a comment from Cohen that said the raid was unnecessary. I have no reason to dispute that because I presume most legitimate attorneys will comply with a subpoena.
I’ve also seen the raid described as a “No-Knock raid” which to me is excessive and probably unnecessary.