Imagine this: your office has just been raided by the FBI and you are furious. Of course, you  would never expect such an invasion of privacy, but in the case of Michael Cohen, there seems an ever-imposing feeling that both he and President Donald Trump could have anticipated such a bold move from the FBI.

According to the New York Times, “The F.B.I. agents who raided the office and hotel of President Trump’s lawyer were seeking details on his relationship with the Trump campaign and his efforts to suppress negative information about Mr. Trump.” The vague nature of this statement allows one’s mind to wander into the multitude of possible answers as to why this event occurred. 

Whether the raid was to gain more information on Russian collusion during the president’s campaign or further details on the Stormy Daniels case, one thing is for certain: the FBI would not have raided the office of the president’s lawyer if they did not have reasonable cause. 

Surprisingly, the raid was equally directed at Cohen as it was at Trump. According to CNN, “The search warrant sought records relating to Cohen’s personal finances and his net worth,” leading one to believe maybe Trump isn’t the only one who has proved increasingly difficult to trust. 

Initially, this all seems reassuring, offering the possibility that Trump isn’t so bad after all; maybe it is the other guy this time. On the other had, it is difficult to trust a man who works so closely and secretly with another who is as equally difficult to trust. The New York Times supported this, stating how difficult it is “to extract Cohen from his work for Trump.” For more than a decade, Trump has “unleashed Mr. Cohen on his foes — investigative journalists, business rivals and potential litigants. And the New York search warrant makes clear that the authorities are interested in his unofficial role in the campaign.”

A country divided has plenty to say on the matter, but there is one fact that cannot be denied because it is the law, and that is client attorney privilege. Surely there are documents, facts or even recordings in Cohen’s office that are private between he and Trump. 

When the FBI intervenes like it did, people raise questions on how well they respect this law and how it will hold up in court. Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, called the searches “completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” resulting in “the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his client.”

This story goes around in circles, resulting in the same confusion. It has been, and is only further proving to be, a he-said she-said battle of pointing fingers and making accusations without enough backing to prove one way or the other. The prosecutors assert that, “they have confidence that any seized material would not fall under the significant amount of attorney-client privilege that Cohen has claimed,” according to CNN.

There is a hearing set to occur on April 20, but the actual process of moving forward is slow. The country will continue to wait patiently for more information to piece together the mess of a puzzle we call our government, and reflect back on times when similar situations occurred. 

How history repeats itself may turn out less of a mystery than expected. Could it be time we prepare for a Watergate level scandal?