Napolitano: Evidence of Crime Required for Judge to OK Raid

The judge who approved an FBI raid of President Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen would have had to believe "among these seized documents is evidence of crimes" by either Cohen — or him and Trump, judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said Monday.

In a breakdown of the surprise raid of Cohen's office, the former judge told Fox News' "Your World With Neil Cavuto," the attorney-client privilege does not apply "if there's a serious allegation of unlawful activity by the lawyer with the client."

Napolitano explained that in this case, the lawyer is Cohen and his client is "his only client — the president of the United States."

"Mr. Cohen's office is on the 26th floor of Trump Tower in the midst of the Trump organization," he said. "This is not a traditional discrete lawyer's office. He works for Donald Trump the person and the Trump organization and its various entities."

"There must be some evidence presented to a federal judge here in New York City sufficient to persuade that judge to sign a search warrant to permit the FBI in broad daylight to raid an attorney's office, particularly when that attorney has one client and happens to be the president of the United States," he said.

"That evidence would have to be such as to persuade a judge that more likely than not is evidence of crimes by Mr. Cohen or Mr. Cohen and the president."

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