Matthew Whitaker, former acting Attorney General in the Trump administration, told Newsmax on Monday that former President Donald Trump could have a case in a lawsuit against Michael Cohen, his former attorney.
Joining "Rob Schmitt Tonight" on Wednesday, Whitaker said Cohen's generous use of the crime-fraud exception to his attorney-client talks with Trump might have gone too far.
"I feel like Michael Cohen possibly, and most likely, went beyond any exception to attorney-client privilege and just, you know, really puked it all up — everything he knew about Donald Trump," Whitaker said.
If provable, "that would be a breach of attorney-client privilege, and that would expose him to financial liability," he added.
His comments follow news that Trump is suing Cohen for $500 million on allegations that Cohen breached his contract in public statements, published books, podcasts, and other media appearances.
Cohen gave key testimony to the Manhattan grand jury's investigation into a $130,000 hush-money payment Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels, leading to Trump's indictment on 34 charges of falisfying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Whitaker accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, which headed the investigation, of being a group of the former president's "biggest haters."
Hogan Gidley, a former White House deputy press secretary in the Trump administration, called Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James' targeting of Trump the left's version of "promises made, promises kept."
"But they're not promises made to the American people or the people of New York," he said. "They're promises to try to attack a political opponent — to try to go after a then-sitting president. And, of course, doing it before he was in office, while he was in office, and now pursuing him after he left office."
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