Richard Painter on Cohen: ‘There’s No Such Thing as a Fixer-Client Privilege’

RUSH EXCERPT:

PAINTER: "There’s an attorney-client privilege if people seek legal advice from an attorney. But there’s no such thing as a fixer-client privilege. And Michael Cohen is acting as a fixer when he distributes these payments to porn stars as hush money in order for them to keep quiet about people’s personal’s affairs. I don’t know about Sean hannity’s deal, and whether something needed to be fixed for him. But there’s no privilege here. And bottom line, Sean hannity brought on attorneys saying it’s somehow outrageous that the FBI went and raided this attorney’s office to get evidence of nonlegal activities, some of them illegal activities, but it certainly wasn’t legal advice that’s being rendered when an attorney pays $130,000 to a porn star to keep her mouth shut and there’s no violation of the privilege there at all. The judge will go through the documents and if there’s anything that is privileged that will be separated and kept confidential. But the FBI has a right to this information and Sean hannity, he’s just made all of the guests on his show look like fools, because of course while he’s supposedly covered it in a fair and balanced manner, he’s getting legal advice or, well, maybe some fixing from the same attorney."