We begin today’s roundup with Rick Wilson’s take on the Michael Cohen raid:
Cohen, far from being the super lawyer to a billionaire real estate tycoon, really only has one important job: covering up Trump’s alleged dalliances. It was Cohen batting cleanup, dealing with an army of models, escorts, Mistresses (large “M” and small “m”), actresses, porn stars, models, Real Dolls, fangirls, groupies, and random topiary at Mar-a-Delicto with a wall of nondisclosure agreements. Master of the NDA, Cohen thought attorney-client privilege would protect him. He forgot he had a fool for a client. Trump couldn’t shut his mouth on Air Force One last week.
Even before Trump opened his mouth on that fateful day, Cohen had managed to repeatedly hoist himself on his own petard in his dumb legal fight with adult film actress Stormy Daniels, hoping she would, like so many of Trump’s endless bimbo eruptions, go away after one of his spittle-flecked, apoplectic tantrums. If you ever wanted to see a proof of the Steve Jobs “A’s hire B’s and B’s hire C’s” rule, it was Trump hiring Cohen, and then Cohen hiring an attorney who was an even lower-rent knockoff version of himself. Hilarity ensued.
Amanda Terkel reminds us of an important point:
While the Cohen raid came as a referral from Mueller’s team, it was not officially part of his investigation. It was executed by the office of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. And the man running that office, interim U.S. attorney Geoffrey Berman, is a Trump appointee whom the president personally met with. [...]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Berman to the job in January. Berman has a reputation among his friends and co-workers as a sharp, hard-working lawyer. And he’s certainly not part of any Democratic cabal out to get Trump: He donated $5,400 to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Cristian Farias at New York:
Even Alan Dershowitz, who has become one of Trump’s favorite lawyers to watch on Fox News, allowed that this was the kind of coordinated law enforcement action often reserved for “organized crime, against very serious, very serious criminals and lawyers who are operating outside of the protections of the law.”
In Trump’s mind, which has a limited capacity to grasp the nuances of Mueller’s work, the Cohen raids were a “break-in,” a “total witch hunt,” and, more dramatically, “an attack on our country.” He even noted that “many people have said” he should fire the special counsel. Trump’s first mistake was in thinking that Mueller is the one orchestrating the investigation into his personal lawyer. For one, the special counsel’s authority is limited, and anything that falls outside of it requires the approval of Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing the Russia investigation. Critically, Bloomberg News reported that Mueller did bring up Cohen with his direct supervisor, who in turn determined that federal prosecutors in Manhattan should be the ones to pursue any leads the special counsel may have on the lawyer, who has enough of a history with Trump to know a thing or three about his client’s darkest secrets.
William Cummings at USA Today explains how such a warrant for attorney-client documents was obtained:
"It’s very unusual for the Department of Justice to permit prosecutors to raid an attorney’s office and that’s because you want to be careful not to get privileged material," said Litman, who teaches at the UCLA School of Law and continues to practice at the law firm Constantine Cannon. In order to get the OK to raid Cohen's office, prosecutors would have had to get approval from high up — in this case from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — and demonstrate to a federal magistrate both probable cause and the need for a warrant instead of a subpoena (such as a concern that Cohen might destroy evidence), Litman explained. [...] There will also be a "taint team" to examine everything before it is handed over to prosecutors to make sure that those conducting the case never see any material that might be "tainted" by attorney-client privilege.
The only way the prosecution would be permitted to examine any material that might otherwise fall under the attorney-client umbrella is if it is determined to be part of crime jointly undertaken by the attorney and the client. But for the privilege to be nullified, Litman said the taint team would have to get the approval of the court to present the material to the prosecution.
Betsy Woodruff and Asawin Suebsaeng:
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are treating Michael Cohen like he’s a lawyer for the mob. That’s how seasoned white collar defense attorneys describe the raid on Cohen’s office, home, and hotel room conducted on April 9.
On a final and related note, former United States attorney and deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman explains how the Stormy Daniels case will haunt the president for a long time:
Once the hush agreement is a dead letter, Ms. Daniels would be able to go on the offensive, suing Mr. Trump for defamation. And why wouldn’t she? The legal dispute has been the biggest boon of her career, and both Mr. Cohen (whom she already is suing for defamation) and Mr. Trump have treated her like dirt.
All of this arises while Mr. Trump is facing, with no legal team to speak of, the all-consuming distraction of the most formidable criminal probe any president has ever faced.
Mr. Trump wouldn’t be the first person to stumble into a one-night stand and find he has generated a decades-long relationship. But he may very well be the first president. As matters stand, there is the distinct possibility that the president’s legal clinch with Stormy Daniels will outlast his presidency.