Woody wrote:I'm not a lawyer, but I'd love to know precisely HOW MUCH evidence you'd have to show to a judge in order to get him or her to sign a search warrant on 3 of the President of the United States's lawyers' locations at the exact same time

The biggest hurdle is that Cohen is the President’s lawyer. Their communications are protected by lawyer-client privilege. The privilege is not absolute. There’s a crime/fraud exception to it. That seems clearly to be the basis of these raids. But DOJ guidelines create a very high bar to piercing those confidences. Whoever made the decision almost certainly needed the consent of the top leadership of the DOJ. The judge who signed these warrants would also require a strong state interest to act on such an exception, all the more so when the client is the President of the United States!

Prosecutors routinely make prudential decisions, separating what might be technically possible under the law and what is proper and justified under the circumstances. Out of control prosecutors who either abuse their office exist of course, as do ones who make convictions their only guide. But even if you assume that Mueller or his staff attorneys suffer the kind of obsessive myopia that has come to afflict other Independent Counsels and Special Prosecutors, he could not and did not do this on his own. Rosenstein needed to sign off on this at multiple stages. Berman – Trump’s recent personal choice – had to make the key decisions.

It simply doesn’t add up. This is something you do when there is major criminal activity and delay or warning will lead to destruction of evidence. That’s not the NDA with Stormy Daniels.

So what is this about? I don’t know. I will say however that a number of knowledgable lawyers (knowledgable in the broad sense, not with inside information about this case) have suggested to me that we shouldn’t take at face value the idea that Mueller decided that this was unrelated to his case or outside his purview. This may be an effort to insulate himself, or attempt to insulate himself, from Trump’s retaliation. Mueller knows (likely with more detail than we do) that Trump has already tried to fire him.

That whole line of thinking is highly speculative. It could be totally wrong. But on the big point: Is this about the $130k Stormy Daniels transaction? That doesn’t add up. It’s simply not a crime of the gravity to merit this kind of action. A lot of good reporters are reporting tonight that that is what this is about. It just doesn’t add up.

Donald Trump wrote:Attorney–client privilege is dead!

Donald Trump wrote:A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!

Monkeyboy wrote:Some don't think the Cohen raid was about Miss Daniels. I think this may be behind a firewall, but here is the gist.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/prime-beta/i-dont-buy-it

The biggest hurdle is that Cohen is the President’s lawyer. Their communications are protected by lawyer-client privilege. The privilege is not absolute. There’s a crime/fraud exception to it. That seems clearly to be the basis of these raids. But DOJ guidelines create a very high bar to piercing those confidences. Whoever made the decision almost certainly needed the consent of the top leadership of the DOJ. The judge who signed these warrants would also require a strong state interest to act on such an exception, all the more so when the client is the President of the United States!

Prosecutors routinely make prudential decisions, separating what might be technically possible under the law and what is proper and justified under the circumstances. Out of control prosecutors who either abuse their office exist of course, as do ones who make convictions their only guide. But even if you assume that Mueller or his staff attorneys suffer the kind of obsessive myopia that has come to afflict other Independent Counsels and Special Prosecutors, he could not and did not do this on his own. Rosenstein needed to sign off on this at multiple stages. Berman – Trump’s recent personal choice – had to make the key decisions.

It simply doesn’t add up. This is something you do when there is major criminal activity and delay or warning will lead to destruction of evidence. That’s not the NDA with Stormy Daniels.

So what is this about? I don’t know. I will say however that a number of knowledgable lawyers (knowledgable in the broad sense, not with inside information about this case) have suggested to me that we shouldn’t take at face value the idea that Mueller decided that this was unrelated to his case or outside his purview. This may be an effort to insulate himself, or attempt to insulate himself, from Trump’s retaliation. Mueller knows (likely with more detail than we do) that Trump has already tried to fire him.

That whole line of thinking is highly speculative. It could be totally wrong. But on the big point: Is this about the $130k Stormy Daniels transaction? That doesn’t add up. It’s simply not a crime of the gravity to merit this kind of action. A lot of good reporters are reporting tonight that that is what this is about. It just doesn’t add up.

In 2015, a longtime business associate of Mr. Trump’s, Felix Sater, emailed Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, at his Trump Organization account claiming he had ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would help Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. Mr. Trump signed a nonbinding letter of intent for the project in 2015 and discussed it at least three times with Mr. Cohen.

A revealing comment about Russia by Eric Trump, the president’s middle son, also drew scrutiny when it emerged last year. James Dodson, a longtime golf writer from North Carolina, said offhand in a radio interview that Eric Trump, who oversees the golf courses for the Trump Organization, told him in 2013 that the Trumps relied on Russian investors to back their golf clubs. Eric Trump has denied those remarks.

At a real estate conference in 2008, Donald Trump Jr. said in a widely circulated comment that Russian money was “pouring in” to the Trump business.

“... In terms of high-end product influx into the U.S., Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” Trump Jr. said.

jerseyhoya wrote:Have been a pretty heavy Russia collusion skeptic, at least compared to the median member of el BSG, but am very open to the idea Trump/Cohen have done other criminal #$!&@ that Mueller has now found the pressure point/crack into.

slugsrbad wrote:

Donald Trump wrote:Attorney–client privilege is dead!

Donald Trump wrote:A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!

Doll Is Mine wrote:So Mike Pompeo is asking Hillary Clinton for advice ahead of his state dept confirmation. This guy was one of her biggest critics during the Benghazi #$!&@. Talk about a witch hunt, that was a witch hunt.

Despite in the past going after Clinton for her response to the 2012 attacks in Benghazi and liking a tweet calling Kerry a "traitor," Pompeo has reached out to both, and every other the living official who held the role of Secretary of State, according to Politico.

Clinton has been willing to help.

Queen Elizabeth likens Trump to noisy helicopter