You have probably seen and may have wondered about President Trump’s tweet on the morning of April 10th, ‘“Attorney Client privilege is dead!”’. Attorney-client privilege is indeed a cornerstone of our legal system:
That is precisely why the U.S. Attorney’s Manual https://www.justice.gov/usam/usam-9-13000-obtaining-evidence#9-13.420 has six stringent requirements that must be met before such a search warrant is issued:
- Before obtaining a search warrant, investigators had to try to obtain the evidence in another way, such as by subpoena.
- The authorization for the warrant had to come from either the U.S. attorney or an assistant attorney general. (Rosenstein is deputy attorney general, a higher position than assistant attorney general.)
- The prosecutor had to confer with the criminal division of the department before seeking the warrant.
- The team conducting the search had to “employ adequate precautions” to ensure that they weren’t improperly viewing privileged communications between Cohen and his clients.
- The search team would have included a “privilege team,” including lawyers and agents not working the case, which would work to ensure that investigators conducting the search didn’t see privileged communications.
- The investigators had to develop a review process for the seized material.
Indiana is considered a swing state for the 2018 mid-term elections (So get out there and VOTE!):
The GOP primary has already gotten ugly, with Todd Rokita and Luke Messer slinging mud at each other as they vie for the Senate nomination. Trump fans tend to support Rokita, while Pence’s crowd backs Messer. Already, it has split Trump world, with Trump supporters in the state backing Rokita while Pence’s allies are behind Messer. There’s even a third contender, Mike Braun, hoping to benefit from the Rokita – Messer mess.
In the meantime Democrat Joe Donnelly has had his best fundraising quarter ever, and Democrats are hoping the GOP fight will leave the winner bruised heading into the general election.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/competitive-senate-races-2018-midterms/index.html
Mike isn’t the only Braun running for Congress in Indiana this year:
His brother Steve is competing for Todd Rokita’s vacated seat in Indiana’s 4th District. Steve is a Porsche-driving “gentleman farmer” as he terms himself on LinkedIn. Of the fact that both brothers are campaigning for federal office, Steve Braun says, “My network is very different from my brother’s network and probably more closely aligns with Messer’s and Rokita’s. So a lot of people that normally would support me don’t because my brother’s running.”
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/indianas-braun-brothers-keep-distance-campaign-trail
Despite Congress being unwilling to address the gun carnage in America, financial institutions are beginning to distance themselves from dealers of death:
And remember, money talks. Bank of America joins Citigroup in restricting its financial dealings with firearms manufacturers. The article also notes that Smith & Wesson’s parent company’s value has dropped by half in the past year.
Concern about President Trump’s rush to set tariffs and engage in trade wars are beginning to hit home in the Hoosier Heartland:
Indiana is vulnerable in both agricultural and manufacturing arenas. ‘[David Rodibaugh says] a tariff on pork, a perishable product, would be felt quickly, while a tariff on soybeans could hit especially hard.
“More than one-third of U.S. soybeans go to China. Right now the world inventory of soybeans is high. We’re in a vulnerable time as far as pricing already,” Rodibaugh said.
He said Brazil, which is America’s biggest competitor for the Chinese soybean market, could take a larger chunk as a result of the tariff.
“We compete with Brazil every day,” Rodibaugh said.
Melanie Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman for the Indiana Soybean Alliance, said farmers have already seen some volatility in prices, as a result of China’s announcement of a possible tariff looming in six month.’