Judging Freedom - Trump Lawyer Interviews - Releasing the Affidavits

Episode Date: August 17, 2022

Trump White House Lawyers Were Interviewed by FBI in Classified-Documents Probe Judge to weigh unsealing affidavit behind Mar-a-Lago search; government says making document public would compromise investigation https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-to... #Trump #fbiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Wednesday, August 17, 2022. It's about 10.55 in the morning here on the east coast of the United States. The execution of a search warrant at the home of former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the news. This is now day 10. The latest information that has come to our attention has been the existence of interviews that the FBI conducted of the two principal lawyers in Trump's White House, Pat Cipollone and Mr. Cipollone's principal deputy. They were apparently interviewed. The FBI suspected that President Trump was hoarding top secret documents while he was still in the White House. The suspicion occurred while he was still in the White House. The suspicion occurred while he was still in the White House. So these lawyers were interviewed while

Donald Trump was still president of the United States, and they certainly have been interviewed since he left. It would not surprise me if those interviews are reflected in the affidavit or affidavits. We don't know how many. There's often more than one. We're submitted to Judge Reinhart, the federal judge in Florida, who signed the search warrant authorizing the search of the former president's home. It's interesting that these lawyers sat for these interviews. Now, we don't know what happened at the interview, but if they sat for them, meaning if they actually went through a Q&A and the lawyers did not invoke executive privilege or attorney-client privilege, that would mean that the privilege was waived. Is there a privilege between Donald Trump and his current lawyers? Probably not. Here's why. After Donald Trump left the White House, the National Archives, doing an inventory of what remained in the White House, concluded that many thousands of pages of documents weren't there. They communicated

with Donald Trump's office at his home in Florida, which acknowledged that he had taken many materials with him, and Donald Trump and his office sent about 12 to 15 boxes of documents back to the National Archives. The National Archives concluded there were still hundreds, maybe thousands of documents Trump hadn't sent back, and they asked for more, and Trump declined to give them more. Then the National Archives went to the DOJ. Then the DOJ, as it can only do, it summoned a grand jury to decide what happened here. And the grand jury, 23 persons meeting in secret in a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. It's the all federal grand juries are. It's similar in many state systems. The grand jury sent a subpoena to Trump. Trump's

lawyers took the subpoena, called the DOJ and negotiated. Subpoenas are, believe it or not, negotiable. So the lawyers negotiated. Some of the DOJ lawyers actually came to Mar-a-Lago to look at the documents that he had. And Trump's lawyers and the DOJ lawyers agreed that certain documents would be sent to the DOJ, which would give them to the National Archives. After that occurred, the second return of documents, one of Trump's lawyers in Mar-a-Lago or in Florida sent a letter to the Department of Justice saying, we have now complied with the subpoena and we don't have anything in Mar-a-Lago that the subpoena calls for. Then a confidential informant. We don't know who. Could be an FBI agent, undercover FBI agent who

got herself or himself hired by Mar-a-Lago. It could be someone legitimately employed at Mar-a-Lago communicated with the FBI and said there are top secret materials here. The letter you got was not accurate. Now that letter is critical, critical to this case. We know that when the FBI searched the house, they found many documents that were top secret SCI. SCI is the highest level of top secret. It means not only that the document is secret, but that every single human being who is to look at the document needs express permission to do so from the preparer of the document. And no one may look at the document unless it's in a secured facility which cannot be surveilled and where Wi-Fi and cell phones aren't permitted and don't work. When the FBI gathered these documents, the DOJ suddenly realized this letter we got from Trump's lawyer saying you have

everything materially misleads us. So now the question is, who materially misled whom? If the lawyer, if Trump's lawyer who wrote that letter materially misled the DOJ, then that lawyer committed a crime and will be indicted and can no longer represent Donald Trump. If on the other hand, the lawyer thought the letter was true because Donald Trump misled the lawyer, then the lawyer is going to become a witness and can no longer represent Donald Trump. Here's why I've given you this explanation. Because the act of misrepresentation, either Trump to the lawyer or the lawyer to the DOJ, is an act of deception. And deception is not covered by the attorney-client privilege. So back to where I started.

When the FBI interviewed Pat Cipollone and his deputy, and they did not claim attorney-client privilege, if that was the case, then they spoke freely. When the FBI interviews the lawyer who wrote this letter, there will be no attorney-client privilege for that lawyer to claim. This puts the president in hot water. My column, Donald Trump and the Department of Justice, which comes out at midnight tonight, lewrockwell.com, washingtontimes.com, townhall.com. The opening line of that column is terrifying, but I honestly believe it is true. Former President Donald Trump will soon be indicted by a federal grand jury. I have attacked the federal government in the column. I have attacked the structures it has created, FBI, CIA, DEA, all those things that are nowhere recognized under the Constitution. I have attacked the Espionage Act, under which Trump is about to be charged for keeping pieces of paper securely in his safe.

No one's harmed by that. The definition of crime is harm intentionally caused and prescribed by written law or natural law. But the government will use its powers, which Congress has given it, to charge, indict, and prosecute Donald Trump. Read the column. Donald Trump and the Department of Justice. Lew Rockwell, L-E-W-R-O-C-K-W-E-L-L. Many of you know that great libertarian website. LewRockwell.com, WashingtonTimesimes.com, townhall.com. It's a barcode at midnight tonight.

Washington Times often posts it on their website about five o'clock in the afternoon the day before, which would be today. Where this ends, I don't know. Donald Trump ran the executive branch of the government for four years. He should know that the security state tried to destroy him in those four years. It is now on the cusp of doing so.

Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom. judging freedom.