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laserhaas

(7,805 posts) Fri Apr 13, 2018, 02:25 PM Apr 2018

Trump Lawyer Seeks to Block Files From F.B.I. Until Search Can Be Done Scrupulously

Source: NY Times

Link to tweet

.
President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, asked a federal judge in Manhattan on Friday to block the Justice Department from reading documents related to his decade-long legal representation of Mr. Trump and that were taken in a recent F.B.I. raid.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen still were trying to determine what exactly was seized in the raids, which were even broader than have been previously reported. In addition to searching Mr. Cohen’s office and hotel room, prosecutors also obtained warrants to seize material from his cellphones, tablet, laptop and a safe deposit box, according to people briefed on the warrants.

The uncertainty around what was taken has heightened the unease around Mr. Trump, whose lawyers had projected confidence in their dealings with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, but were caught flat-footed by the extraordinary raids on Mr. Cohen. The lawyers fear that Mr. Cohen will not be forthcoming about what was in his files, leaving them girding for the unknown.

A hurriedly scheduled court appearance in Manhattan reflected that worry. The documents could shed light on the president’s relationship with an adviser who has helped steer him through some of his thorniest personal and business dilemmas. Joanna C. Hendon, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, asked a federal judge to temporarily prohibit the Justice Department from reviewing those materials until the matter can be litigated.

Read more: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/us/politics/lawyers-for-trumps-personal-attorney-set-for-friday-court-appearance.html?smid=tw-share

The President is cornered and he is going to come out by - reportedly - Trump going to tell Sessions & Rothstein

..........You're FIRED!

5 replies

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Trump Lawyer Seeks to Block Files From F.B.I. Until Search Can Be Done Scrupulously (Original Post) laserhaas Apr 2018 OP

Since I heard of the raids... paleotn Apr 2018 #1

Except it appears Cohen is under investigation neohippie Apr 2018 #2

Cohen is grandstanding. There ALREADY is a scrupulous legal process for such situations. Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2018 #3

U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood was nominated to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, red dog 1 Apr 2018 #4

I shudder to think who's going to decide "scrupulously." dchill Apr 2018 #5

paleotn

(17,918 posts)

1. Since I heard of the raids...

Reply to laserhaas (Original post)

Fri Apr 13, 2018, 02:46 PM

Apr 2018

I've been convinced that they weren't about porn stars and hush money. Not completely. That was just icing on the cake. Cohen is Dumpster's "bookkeeper" a la Al Copone. He has the "keys" to the kingdom and now those "keys" are in the hands of the US Justice Department.

I doubt this latest manuvour will fly. The reasoning and evidence behind such extraordinary warrants will trump any need to wait until litigation is concluded. Frantically grasping at straws I think.

neohippie

(1,142 posts)

2. Except it appears Cohen is under investigation

Reply to laserhaas (Original post)

Fri Apr 13, 2018, 02:48 PM

Apr 2018

Link to tweet

NEW: In a court filing, federal prosecutors in Manhattan confirm that President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, "is under criminal investigation."

Link to tweet

Prosecutors say Cohen "is being investigated for criminal conduct that largely centers on his personal business dealings," and he has "exceedingly few clients" whose privileged communications might have been seized during the FBI's search.

Link to tweet

President Trump's private business has already notified DOJ that it considers "each and every" communication between Cohen and people working for the company to be privileged.

DOJ: It's not clear that Cohen "in his capacity as an attorney has many, or any, attorney-client relationships other than with President Donald Trump."

I tried to include text from these tweets for people who cannot use Twitter
It looks like this is getting very interesting and the noose is tightening

Bernardo de La Paz

(49,002 posts)

3. Cohen is grandstanding. There ALREADY is a scrupulous legal process for such situations.

Reply to laserhaas (Original post)

Fri Apr 13, 2018, 02:52 PM

Apr 2018

Justice Department procedures call for a filter or “taint” team to screen all the seized documents in such cases, separating out material protected by attorney-client privilege so that it would not be shared with investigators.

Material that is not protected by the privilege but is relevant to the documents being sought in the search is turned over to the investigative team.

In law enforcement circles, agents sometimes refer to this as a “dirty” team and a “clean” team. If the “taint” team finds documents that indicate a lawyer participated or even unwittingly facilitated some type of fraud, then the attorney-client privilege would no longer apply and that information would also be turned over to investigators.

Cotter noted that there is a third, often unnoticed category of lawyer-client communications that is not covered by the privilege. If there are conversations in which the lawyer is not providing advice on legal matters but that still involve topics of interest to investigators, that material can, in some cases, also be turned over to investigators.

-- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/04/10/taking-to-twitter-trump-says-the-fbi-raid-targeting-his-lawyer-violated-attorney-client-privilege/?noredirect=on

red dog 1

(27,804 posts)

4. U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood was nominated to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan,

Reply to laserhaas (Original post)

Fri Apr 13, 2018, 05:24 PM

Apr 2018

and was confirmed by a unanimous U.S. Senate in 1988.
She sentenced "junk bond king" Michael Milken to 10 years in prison,
[I hope Michael Cohen gets a 10 year sentence too]

K&R, thanks for posting

dchill

(38,497 posts)

5. I shudder to think who's going to decide "scrupulously."

Reply to laserhaas (Original post)

Fri Apr 13, 2018, 05:26 PM

Apr 2018

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