Politics

Trump plans to assert an "advice of counsel" defense, claiming he was just following the legal advice of his attorneys. However, this defense comes with conditions that could undermine Trump's case. By asserting this defense, Trump would waive attorney-client privilege, meaning communications with his attorneys would become available to prosecutors. His attorneys would also likely have to testify in court. Furthermore, prosecutors could argue that Trump's attorneys were actually co-conspirators, not just legal advisors, and that Trump's reliance on their advice was unreasonable. Special Counsel Jack Smith appears to have capitalized on this by naming Trump's attorney co-conspirators in the indictment, which could allow him to crack open communications between Trump and his attorneys.