Trump's lawyer's office raided by FBI

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EzraS
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10 Apr 2018, 1:44 am

Kraichgauer wrote:
EzraS wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
Who does Trump turn to if his lawyer is indicted? I've read lawyers avoid him like the plague, as he shoots his stupid mouth off against advice, and welches on his lawyer bills. Not a lot of good legal representation in his future, methinks.


Looks like he'll have to get a public defender.



I thought that was only for poor people.


I was thinking more along the lines of a public defender having to take an assigned case whether they want to or not.



cberg
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10 Apr 2018, 1:49 am

They can be appointed if a federal judge finds Trump's organization incapable of retaining private counsel.

By some standards he could already be eligible but a judge has to rule him incapable of retaining passable representation.


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Last edited by cberg on 10 Apr 2018, 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

EzraS
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10 Apr 2018, 1:54 am

I really only meant it as a joke, but maybe I was closer to the truth than I thought.



cberg
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10 Apr 2018, 1:59 am

Being able to afford every lawyer on Earth doesn't mean any are willing past a certain point.


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Kraichgauer
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10 Apr 2018, 2:11 am

cberg wrote:
Being able to afford every lawyer on Earth doesn't mean any are willing past a certain point.


Exactly!


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ASPartOfMe
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10 Apr 2018, 2:29 am

Trump brands raid on lawyer Michael Cohen's office 'disgraceful'

Quote:
US President Donald Trump says the FBI's raid on the offices of his personal lawyer was a "disgrace" and an "attack on our country".

"I have this witch hunt constantly going on," he told White House reporters.
Officials in New York seized "privileged communications" between Michael Cohen and his clients, his lawyer said after the raid on Monday.

Documents regarding a payment to a porn actress were also seized, US media say.

Law enforcement acted on a "referral" from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Mr Trump criticised the investigation and described Mr Mueller's team as "the most biased group of people

When a president's personal lawyer is the target of a federal law-enforcement raid, it is a Big Deal. How big a deal remains to be seen, but the fact that the move came at the request of the Justice Department's Southern District of New York - after a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office - could be an indication that Donald Trump's affairs are now relevant to a second criminal probe.

Mr Cohen's ties to Mr Trump run deep. He's more than just a personal lawyer, he's a friend and fixer. He was already on Mr Mueller's radar for his work for the Trump organisation in Russia. Now the scope of his legal concerns may have dramatically expanded.


Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations
Quote:
Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney of President Trump, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, according to three people with knowledge of the case.

Two of the potential crimes being investigated — bank fraud and wire fraud — suggest prosecutors have some reason to think Cohen may have misled bankers about why he was using particular funds or may have improperly used banks in the transfer of funds.

Cohen has acknowledged facilitating a $130,000 payment in October 2016 to Daniels, who claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006.

Cohen has said he used a home-equity line of credit to finance the payment to Daniels and said that neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign reimbursed him for the payment.

Banks don’t usually require much explanation from customers about how they use such credit lines. However, Cohen may have been asked to provide explanation for the large-dollar transfers he made when he moved the money to a shell company and then to a lawyer for Daniels.

The search requests for records related to the payment to Daniels cited investigators’ interest in possible violations of election law, according to one person familiar with the investigators’ work.

The Cohen raids required high-level authorization within the Justice Department. Under regulations governing the special counsel’s work, Mueller is required to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein if his team finds information worth investigating that does not fall under his mandate to examine Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Rosenstein, as the acting attorney general supervising Mueller’s work, has the responsibility of deciding whether to expand Mueller’s mandate to include the new topic or to refer it to a U.S. attorney’s office.

Since Cohen is a practicing attorney whose communications with clients are considered privileged, federal prosecutors would have been required to first consider a less intrusive investigative tactic than a search warrant before executing the raids.

“A search warrant for a law office is extremely rare,” said Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law. “Lawyers are given the courtesy of producing documents in response to a subpoena or a request unless the government believes a lawyer will destroy or conceal the objects of the search.”

To serve a search warrant on a practicing attorney, federal prosecutors are required to obtain approval from top Justice Department officials. That means the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, who was appointed to his role by Sessions in January, as well as Justice Department officials in Washington, probably signed off.

Known for his combative style and fierce loyalty to Trump, Cohen served for a decade as a top lawyer at the Trump Organization, tangling with reporters and Trump’s business competitors on behalf of the celebrity real estate mogul.

He never formally joined Trump’s campaign but was in close contact with his longtime boss from his Trump Tower office throughout the 2016 race and presidential transition.

“The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone,” he said, referring to Daniels’s real name, Stephanie Clifford.

While the timing of the payment — 12 days before the presidential election — might suggest an attempt to influence the outcome, timing is not enough to prove intent, said Rick Hasen, a professor specializing in election law at the University of California at Irvine.

“It would be very difficult to bring one of these cases without some good documentary evidence,” he said. “I think a lot of people are underestimating the hurdles that it takes to bring a criminal prosecution.”


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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 10 Apr 2018, 3:03 am, edited 3 times in total.

cberg
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10 Apr 2018, 2:41 am

Trump =/= "our country".

That's not authoritarian, it's self-aggrandizement beyond the scale of 1:300,000,000.

Our country is founded on the ability to attack itself, repeatedly.


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Kraichgauer
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10 Apr 2018, 2:47 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Trump brands raid on lawyer Michael Cohen's office 'disgraceful'
Quote:
US President Donald Trump says the FBI's raid on the offices of his personal lawyer was a "disgrace" and an "attack on our country".

"I have this witch hunt constantly going on," he told White House reporters.
Officials in New York seized "privileged communications" between Michael Cohen and his clients, his lawyer said after the raid on Monday.

Documents regarding a payment to a porn actress were also seized, US media say.

Law enforcement acted on a "referral" from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Mr Trump criticised the investigation and described Mr Mueller's team as "the most biased group of people

When a president's personal lawyer is the target of a federal law-enforcement raid, it is a Big Deal. How big a deal remains to be seen, but the fact that the move came at the request of the Justice Department's Southern District of New York - after a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office - could be an indication that Donald Trump's affairs are now relevant to a second criminal probe.

Mr Cohen's ties to Mr Trump run deep. He's more than just a personal lawyer, he's a friend and fixer. He was already on Mr Mueller's radar for his work for the Trump organisation in Russia. Now the scope of his legal concerns may have dramatically expanded.


Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations
Quote:
Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney of President Trump, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, according to three people with knowledge of the case.

Two of the potential crimes being investigated — bank fraud and wire fraud — suggest prosecutors have some reason to think Cohen may have misled bankers about why he was using particular funds or may have improperly used banks in the transfer of funds.

Cohen has acknowledged facilitating a $130,000 payment in October 2016 to Daniels, who claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006.

Cohen has said he used a home-equity line of credit to finance the payment to Daniels and said that neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign reimbursed him for the payment.

Banks don’t usually require much explanation from customers about how they use such credit lines. However, Cohen may have been asked to provide explanation for the large-dollar transfers he made when he moved the money to a shell company and then to a lawyer for Daniels.

The search requests for records related to the payment to Daniels cited investigators’ interest in possible violations of election law, according to one person familiar with the investigators’ work.

The Cohen raids required high-level authorization within the Justice Department. Under regulations governing the special counsel’s work, Mueller is required to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein if his team finds information worth investigating that does not fall under his mandate to examine Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Rosenstein, as the acting attorney general supervising Mueller’s work, has the responsibility of deciding whether to expand Mueller’s mandate to include the new topic or to refer it to a U.S. attorney’s office.

Since Cohen is a practicing attorney whose communications with clients are considered privileged, federal prosecutors would have been required to first consider a less intrusive investigative tactic than a search warrant before executing the raids.

“A search warrant for a law office is extremely rare,” said Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law. “Lawyers are given the courtesy of producing documents in response to a subpoena or a request unless the government believes a lawyer will destroy or conceal the objects of the search.”

To serve a search warrant on a practicing attorney, federal prosecutors are required to obtain approval from top Justice Department officials. That means the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, who was appointed to his role by Sessions in January, as well as Justice Department officials in Washington, probably signed off.

Known for his combative style and fierce loyalty to Trump, Cohen served for a decade as a top lawyer at the Trump Organization, tangling with reporters and Trump’s business competitors on behalf of the celebrity real estate mogul.

He never formally joined Trump’s campaign but was in close contact with his longtime boss from his Trump Tower office throughout the 2016 race and presidential transition.

“The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone,” he said, referring to Daniels’s real name, Stephanie Clifford.

While the timing of the payment — 12 days before the presidential election — might suggest an attempt to influence the outcome, timing is not enough to prove intent, said Rick Hasen, a professor specializing in election law at the University of California at Irvine.

“It would be very difficult to bring one of these cases without some good documentary evidence,” he said. “I think a lot of people are underestimating the hurdles that it takes to bring a criminal prosecution.”


“Attack on Our Country” is very authoritarian language.


Sounds like Mueller's just hit a nerve with this raid.


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ASPartOfMe
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10 Apr 2018, 3:05 am

“Attack on Our Country” is very authoritarian language.

At first glance when the “Stormy Daniels” news first broke it seemed like a salacious one day story. It revealed what we already knew about Trump. A consensual affair is a lot less bad then several accusations of sexual assault. But right away I had a feeling that this or another old fashion corruption case was going to end up more important then the alleged Russia collusion.

If there is Russia collusion the Trump administration has a funny way of rewarding Putin. Sanctions that financially hurt Putin’s friends, killing at least 100 Russian contractors, and providing lethal weapons to Ukraine. And probably in the next day or two launching a major military action against a Putin ally.

I know know nothing of election law and it may be hard to legally prove but I can think of no other realistic explanation for the hush money being paid then collusion to try and effect the election.


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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 10 Apr 2018, 3:10 am, edited 3 times in total.

goldfish21
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10 Apr 2018, 3:08 am

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cberg
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10 Apr 2018, 3:21 am

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10 Apr 2018, 4:59 am

goldfish21 wrote:
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:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:


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