Michael Avenatti, attorney for adult film actor and alleged Donald Trump mistress Story Daniels, has a way with words. And like all good wordsmiths, he knows when to borrow. When Donald Trump railed against the FBI raid of his lawyer Michael Cohen’s offices, Trump told Americans on Twitter that “attorney-client privilege is dead.” Trump is referring to the protected confidentiality of communications between lawyers and their clients — protected in order to promote truthful exchange. Attorney-client privilege has not been killed, however, by the raid. Attorney-client privilege has a legal limit, and that limit is when attorney-client privilege is determined to have been used to cover up criminal activity. That’s not protected under law.
To comment on Trump’s assertion, Avenatti borrowed a very memorable line from the US Vice Presidential debates of 1988. In that debate, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen was debating youthful Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, who claimed he had as much political experience as John F. Kennedy at that point in his career. Bentsen seared Quayle with this: “I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
Avenatti echoed Bentsen in his put-down of Trump’s claim.
“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.”
There are some other choice Avenatti tweets below.
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. #basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 10, 2018
A well-regarded Republican appointed US Atty obtaining valid search warrants, approved by a judge, that are then then carried out by career, upstanding FBI agents doing their job to search for the truth is NOT A WITCH HUNT. Period. #basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 10, 2018
To those that scoffed when we filed this case and claimed it was all about $: As we predicted and as the FBI raid shows, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump are in a lot of trouble. It has ALWAYS been about the threats, cover-up and the lies that have been told to the American people. #basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 10, 2018
