It is very common knowledge that the FBI raided Michael Cohen’s office to seize information relevant to the Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniel’s cases. Michael Cohen is Trump’s personal lawyer.
There’s been so much commentary on the raid, that it seems hardly worth adding to it. However, the one person who doesn’t seem terrible angry is Michael Cohen, as follows:
Two days after FBI agents raided his home and office—reportedly seeking documents related to hush payments made to women with whom President Trump allegedly had an affair, among other information—the president’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen had this to say: “I just want my stuff back.” That comment, made to ABC News, was Cohen’s first remark since telling CNN on Tuesday that the raiding federal agents were “extremely professional, courteous and respectful,” contradicting the president’s claim that agents “broke into” his lawyer’s office.
I stated before that it seemed everything was done by the book. The Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, signed off on the search warrant. He is a Trump appointee. There were multiple checks on this search warrant. Michael Cohen is under investigation for bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance contributions.
The items seized from Michael Cohen are with the “taint team” to determine if what information is relevant under the scope of the search. It is another safeguard to protect the rights of Michael Cohen, against unreasonable searches.
Alan Dershowitz, the very well known defense attorney and former Harvard professor, doesn’t see it this way. He obviously doesn’t believe there are enough checks in the system, to allow a search and still protect the legitimate privacy of an attorney’s records outside of what is criminal evidence. An article appearing in The Hill, is provided in the links. He has appeared on Fox News network, with the same opinion. Others, particularly on CNN and MSNBC, have voiced far more confidence in the judicial system and believe prosecutors will respect the rights of Mr. Cohen. I am particularly concerned, when Alan Dershowitz states that FBI raids should be limited to only “major crimes” which he then states this isn’t one of them. What will remain in the hands of judges, is the evidence that was used to support the search warrant, so Dershowitz, like the rest of us, is completely in the dark.
We have First Amendment rights of free speech. This is the protection for individuals, who espouse very unpopular opinions including radicals on the far right and left of the political spectrum. It protects gay rights activist and atheist organizations. When high powered attorneys seek to intimidate people to give up their rights in exchange for money, I think this is worthy of an investigation. It is particularly egregious if the Daniel’s contract was invalid and payments were violations of campaign finance laws. The Supreme Court allows massive donations to be given to political parties, to monopolize the air waves during campaigns. The courts can not condone campaign violations which also silence dissent during a campaign.
To ignore potential violations of law helps create new rights for the wealthy and powerful class, a form of immunity from the law. Donald Trump felt that he could have his lawyer fix his indiscretions through physical harm and hush money to gain the silence of others, leaving him in the clear. This was done to help his campaign for president, running on a campaign who claimed (until today) that his opponent was crooked. The First Amendment is needed for small people or people who work for small organizations.
Dershowitz further states that the raid will make people afraid to seek legal advice. I seriously doubt it. A good lawyer will be sure to take steps to ensure confidentiality by having a client sign a contract to represent them in a specific matter. The problem Trump has, is that he wanted Cohen to fix everything, and leave him in the clear. It likely made Cohen a partner in crime.
Dershowitz goes on, to state this highly intrusive manner of collecting evidence, was done for political reasons. Again, this seems contrary to facts as there were reviews of this warrant in the Justice Department and the Southern District of New York. If a similar raid were conducted on Hillary Clinton’s office, it would have to go through the same court system. I would support this as well.
I believe Michael Cohen subdued reaction is because he knows the FBI has a mountain of incriminating evidence against him. The role of Trump’s fixer came to an abrupt end, and now the fixer has some real negotiating to do with authorities instead of Trump’s occasional indiscretions.
The late night comedians, such as Stephen Colbert and John Oliver, are having a tremendous amount of fun over the irony in all of this. Trump appointed an Attorney General, who has been as tough as nails on illegal immigration, drug use and against sentencing reforms. Yet, Trump is steadfastly trying to make himself an exception to the heightened law and order approach of the Justice Department.
Trump is saying in essence, “Go after criminals, but stay away from my campaign officials and their contacts.”
Stay tuned,
Dave
Links:
http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/382459-dershowitz-targeting-trumps-lawyer-should-worry-us-all
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