Preet Bharara to Trump: ‘Long live the crime-fraud exception’

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara responded to President Trump after he tweeted that the “attorney-client privilege is dead.”

“Long live the crime-fraud exception,” Bharara — whom President Trump fired last year after he refused to resign from his post — tweeted Tuesday. 

Long live the crime-fraud exception https://t.co/1nnqZegqfF

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) April 10, 2018

The crime-fraud exception means that a client’s communication with an attorney isn’t privileged if it “involves communications in furtherance of a contemplated or ongoing crime or fraud,” according to the American Bar Association.

Trump tweeted earlier Tuesday morning that “attorney–client privilege is dead” after it was reported Monday that the FBI raided the office and hotel room of Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

The FBI seized emails, tax documents and records related to Cohen’s payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.

Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, said in a statement Monday that federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained a search warrant after receiving a referral “in part” from special counsel Robert Mueller.

Ryan called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” 

Other documents seized included business records and communications between Cohen and Trump, but the raid does not appear to be directly connected to Mueller’s probe.

Trump on Monday called the raid a “disgrace” and a “pure and simple witch hunt.”