President Donald Trump again declared that attorney-client privilege is dead following the FBI raid of his attorney Michael Cohen‘s office and home last Monday.
Attorney Client privilege is now a thing of the past. I have many (too many!) lawyers and they are probably wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided with everything, including their phones and computers, taken. All lawyers are deflated and concerned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018
The tweet was one of several posted Sunday morning, lashing out at everything from reactions to his Syrian airstrikes to former FBI Director James Comey‘s new book on his time in the White House.
Trump has spoken out against Monday’s raid which he argues has violated attorney-client privilege by seizing communications between him and Cohen. Now, the president claims his lawyers are looking over their shoulders and “wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided with everything, including their phones and computers taken.”
Despite Trump’s statement that the FBI infringed upon attorney-client privilege, there are numerous exceptions to the rule, and it operates on a case-by-case basis. Some loopholes include discussions with third parties, communications about certain future crimes as opposed to past ones, or even business advice being offered by an attorney to the client. Without knowing the nature of the communications seized, it is impossible to draw conclusions about whether the privilege was violated; however, various documents stored by lawyers do not fall under this protection.
[Image via screengrab]
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