Mueller Team Not Responsible For Raid On Trump’s Lawyer
There has been a lot of misinformation related to the Mueller Investigation and its role in the raid on Trump’s former (or maybe current) lawyer Michael Cohen. Right wing blow hard Sean Hannity (among many others clinging to the Trump banner) is bemoaning the overreach of the Mueller investigation following the raid on Cohen’s office. Trump tweeted that “Attorney Client Privilege Is Dead”. Two problems. The raid does not have anything to do with attorney client privilege if there were crimes committed by Cohen in the payoff of Stormy Daniels and/or other alleged Trump sexual partners. Attorney client privilege does not excuse crime, it merely protects a legal team from having to testify against their clients. If you listen to the Whiskey Congress podcast, you will know that I am an engineer and my co-host Steve is a lawyer. If I over step my legal analysis capabilities, I am confident I will hear about it soon enough. One matter that is not up for debate here is that the Mueller team did not raid Cohen’s office. The raid was conducted by the New York Southern District’s FBI office. They are likely acting on information provided by the Mueller team, but the difference between the two is massive. For one thing, the FBI raid on Cohen is completely independent of the Mueller Russia Investigation (suggesting another set of eyes from the FBI have reason to believe that those close to Trump are guilty of crimes) and perhaps more interestingly, those responsible for the raid may have acted on orders of Trump Administration appointees.
Federal prosecutors investigating President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael D. Cohen, are seeking records related to two women who received payments in 2016 after alleging affairs with Trump years ago — adult-film star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The interest in both Daniels and McDougal indicates that federal investigators are trying to determine whether there was a broader pattern or strategy among Trump associates to buy the silence of women whose accounts could harm the president’s electoral chances and whether any crimes were committed in doing so, the person said.
The high stakes of the case were underscored by the involvement of Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who personally approved the move to seek a search warrant for Cohen’s records, which included raids Monday on his home and office, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation.
Rosenstein’s role has infuriated Trump, who was left “stunned” and “livid” by the aggressive move by prosecutors Monday, according to an outside adviser in frequent touch with the White House.
Cohen, Trump’s longtime attorney, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, The Washington Post reported Monday.
