The Monday (April 9, 2018) FBI raids on the office, home and hotel room of President Donald Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, were raids not just against Michael Cohen. They were raids against the U.S. Constitution and the rights of all Americans to be able to communicate with their lawyers without fear of government seizure of such attorney-client communications, which have until now been protected from government snooping.
With stunning speed and shocking impunity, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution - part of the Bill of Rights that safeguards our basic freedoms as Americans - is now at risk. The Fourth Amendment is crystal clear in its protections of our rights. It states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The well-established meaning of this constitutional right, built on more than two centuries of precedent and sober caution against politically inspired home or office raids, makes the raids against Cohen uniquely chilling.
The chilling effect of these raids on a long-established presumption of attorney-client privilege ricochets widely. If that privilege can be tossed by a zealous special counsel, whether or not politically motivated, it effectively no longer exists. The next prosecutor will be feared all the more; truthful dialogue between attorney and client will be impaired. The attorney-client privilege is derailed, since it only exists if all prosecutors honor it. (Fox News)
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