The corruption that Donald Trump surrounded himself with is catching up to him. If he thought that becoming president would be like a glorified “get out of jail free” card, he’s long been proven wrong at this point.
In that light, the FBI raided his personal lawyer Michael Cohen’s office on Monday, seizing an array of records related to topics including the $130,000 in hush money that he dished out to adult film star Stormy Daniels towards the end of the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
The president, in turn, lashed out at the nation’s justice system through such means as an early Tuesday morning tweet of the sort that he so often loves to post, writing:
‘Attorney–client privilege is dead!’
Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti, who has no doubt become beloved by many over recent weeks for his efforts to hold the president accountable for his misdeeds, responded to the president’s angry pronouncement with a tweet of his own.
Avenatti wrote:
‘I use the attorney-client privilege. I know the attorney-client privilege. The attorney-client privilege is a friend of mine. And the attorney-client privilege is not dead. What is dead is using the privilege to hide illegal acts. And that has been dead for a long time.’
The illegal acts to which Avenatti is referring include possible campaign finance law violations and bank fraud, both of which Cohen is reported to be under investigation for in light of his massive payment to Daniels. The money, if it came directly from Cohen, could constitute an illegal campaign contribution in light of it being meant to prop up the Trump campaign in late 2016.
Although the president followed up his initial early Tuesday Twitter message by tacking his favorite euphemism for the Russia investigation onto what happened to his lawyer, the FBI raided Cohen in a case that is distinct from the Russia inquiry. To be sure, though, the raid was carried out thanks to a referral from the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and in response to the news, the president indicated that he is open to the idea of firing the special counsel.
As the special counsel continues to operate under the shadow of the president’s threats, Avenatti and Daniels continue to duke it out in court with the president’s team over the hush money and associated nondisclosure agreement. Daniels’ team claims the NDA to be invalid because although she signed it, the president did not.
The latest developments in the Daniels case include an effort on the part of the Trump team to get the case moved to private arbitration and a suit from Daniels against Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for defamation.
The president personally responded finally to the scandal recently, claiming to have had no knowledge of the hush money payment. Although the president could be lying, that claim from the commander-in-chief bolsters Daniels’ case since if the president didn’t even know about the NDA covering an alleged affair with him, then how could it be considered even remotely valid? That could be grounds for Michael Cohen’s disbarment.
Check out Twitter’s take on Avenatti’s quip in response to the president.
Featured image via NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
