The ACLU said the FBI search of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's office was not a violation of attorney–client privilege. In fact, it said in a statement written by ACLU Legal Director David Cole, "all indications thus far are that the search was conducted pursuant to the rule of law, and with sign-offs from Trump appointees."

We don't say this lightly. The ACLU is the nation's premier defender of privacy, and we've long maintained that the right of every American to speak freely to his or her attorney is essential to the legal system. These rights are protected by the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, and we are second to none in defending them — often for people with whom we fundamentally disagree.

But we also believe in the rule of law as an essential foundation for civil liberties and civil rights. And perhaps the first principle of the rule of law is that no one — not even the president, let alone his lawyer — is above the law. And no one, not even the president, can exploit the attorney-client privilege to engage in crime or fraud.