December 16, 2017

Trump Jr invents a ‘privilege’ to avoid Russia scandal questions

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-jr-invents-privilege-avoid-russia-scandal-questions
"Just so we’re all clear, Donald Trump Jr. isn’t an attorney. Donald Trump Sr. isn’t an attorney, either. Neither is a client of the other. And yet, the president’s son, unwilling to answer questions about a key area of interest, decided that since there was a lawyer around during a conversation with his father, he can now refuse to answer the Intelligence Committee’s questions. No, seriously. That’s what he said. First, this is nutty, even for Trump World. The attorney-client privilege exists to shield conversations between … wait for it … attorneys and clients. Trump Jr. appears to be making up a privilege out of whole cloth. Second, the legal creativity surrounding the Russia scandal is increasingly extraordinary. In recent months, we’ve seen prominent figures in the president’s orbit raise bizarre claims about executive privilege, even stranger arguments about a president being unable to obstruct justice, and now non-lawyers are claiming attorney-client privilege. I’m surprised law-school professors everywhere aren’t breaking out in cold sweats."