If the client is not the client, then there are no confidences or secrets to protect. In the case of then Mr. Trump's and now President Trump's attorney Michael Cohen, whose residence and office were the subject of a search warrant executed by the FBI, if Mr. Trump did not know then, that Mr. Cohen was acting as his attorney in resolving the Stormy Daniels matter with a payment of $130,000, then there is no attorney-client relationship.

And therefore no privilege. Mr. Cohen can be asked about the payment because the client didn't know about it.

The rules say that the attorney is supposed to advance the client's objectives, which means the client has to give the instructions – the guidance. If Mr. Cohen acts without Mr. Trump's knowledge, then Mr. Cohen is not advancing the client's objectives and the rule has been broken. If Mr. Cohen goes ahead and settles a case and pays the money for the settlement without Mr. Trump knowing about it, he has not followed the client's directives. The rule has been broken.

The rulebook says that the communications between an attorney and his client are supposed to be confidential. So, if someone else is present for the conversation who is not an attorney or has not been engaged by the attorney to help the client legally, then the privilege is destroyed. And apparently, if Mr. Trump was not present for any of the conversations, how can they be privileged in the first place?