• 2018: Michael Cohen, Trump lawyer, subjected by feds to search of his home, office, hotel room, storage locker, safe deposit box, plus seizure of phones & computers of himself and his wife. Forced to plead guilty to tax & finance charges, sentenced to 3 years in prison.
• 2021: Rudy Giuliani, Trump lawyer, subjected to search of home, seizure of all phones & computers. Charges pending, depending on what search reveals. Even worse, when Rudi was defending Trump from 1st impeachment, feds reportedly searched cloud, read emails & texts between him and Trump – without telling Rudi, in effect spying on him. This makes a bad joke of the right to counsel.
Questions:
- 4th Amendment requires search warrant to specify things to be seized. Does “every phone, laptop, hard drive, thumb drive, or other electronic device” satisfy this requirement?
- 6th Amendment requires a defendant to be represented by counsel. If a person’s lawyers are arrested, charged with crimes, & pressured to “roll” on client, what does the right to counsel really mean?
- Right to counsel implies attorney-client privilege, as enshrined in bar association ethics. If a person’s lawyers can be pressured to reveal confidential information, what does this privilege really mean?
You hate Trump? You love the 4th and 6th Amendments and legal ethics? Well, which is stronger, your love or your hate? If you don’t choose, the choice will be made for you: hate. And then, if you need a lawyer, will you be able to look at him or her, without wondering if they’re working for you or the prosecution?
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