Opinion: Trump keeps breaking the rules

Which appears to explain the extraordinary raid of his lawyer yesterday. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, April 10, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist Donald Trump doesn’t like to follow the rules. He [lies constantly](. He cheats on his wife (and not just the current one). His businesses are notorious for stiffing customers and vendors. As president, he has [violated]( one longstanding norm after another. When Trump believes it’s convenient for him to break a rule, he often just decides that the rule doesn’t matter. This longstanding pattern probably goes a long way toward explaining yesterday’s events: The F.B.I. conducted a raid of the office and hotel room of Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen — a raid approved by the United States attorney for the southern district of New York, Geoffrey Berman, who was appointed by the Trump administration just three months ago. Think about how extraordinary this is. Receiving a warrant to search any lawyer’s office is unusual, given the power of attorney-client privilege. And in this case, the office being searched is that of the lawyer representing the president of the United States. Which means that the search required the approval of both top Justice Department officials and a federal judge. Why would they have granted it? Because they had good reason to believe that Cohen would have refused to follow the rules and voluntarily turn over material relevant to an investigation. As a former senior law enforcement official [told]( CNN’s Jake Tapper, it’s likely that either Cohen “was so uncooperative they couldn’t get the information from subpoena or they had proof there was destruction of evidence.” People who are willing to break the rules can sometimes get away with it for a long time. But sometimes their history and their misbehavior catch up with them. That now may be happening to Trump. If so, thank goodness. We’re supposed to be a nation of laws, where rulebreaking brings consequences. Related: In The Times, Harry Litman — a former federal prosecutor — [explains]( what the investigators may be looking for. Asha Rangappa, a former F.B.I. special agent, says the raid is another sign that the Russia probe may continue even if Trump fires Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation: The president “will be sorely mistaken if he thinks that getting rid of Mueller will stop anything that has already started rolling in our justice system,” [she said](. Trump continues to refuse to play by the rules. The government seems to have followed the exact process for conducting a search of an attorney’s office, as law professor [Steve Vladeck notes](. Yet Trump “made it sound — dangerously — like treason,” [writes]( The New Yorker’s Amy Davidson Sorkin. “Now more than ever,” Bill Kristol [tweeted]( “Republicans in Congress, and others in leadership roles, should step up” to protect Mueller. Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s C.E.O., will testify before Congress today about Facebook’s impact on the 2016 election. But what he says matters less than what Congress does, [writes Zeynep Tufekci in The Times]( “We already know most everything we need for legislators to pass laws that would protect us from what Facebook has unleashed.” Elsewhere, Slate’s [April Glaser]( Vox’s [Emily Stewart]( and Wired’s [Nicholas Thompson]( preview Zuckerberg’s testimony. The full Opinion report from The Times follows. Op-Ed Columnist [Obamacare’s Very Stable Genius]( By PAUL KRUGMAN The program has held up despite Trump’s attempts at sabotage. Op-Ed Columnist [Turning Revulsion Into Votes]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG The Working Families Party wants to represent the resistance. Op-Ed Columnist [The Failures of Anti-Trumpism]( By DAVID BROOKS Stopping Donald Trump requires a different approach. Editorial [In Syria, Trump Faces the Limits of Bluster]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD After chemical weapons kill dozens, the president must face up to the complexities of ending the slaughter there. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [What Should Congress Ask Zuckerberg?]( By ZEYNEP TUFEKCI Nothing. It should get to work on fixing the problem. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Scott Pruitt’s Civilization-Threatening Lie]( By JUSTIN GILLIS His ethical lapses are the least of our problems. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [What Are the French Doing to Protect Jews? A Lot.]( By PAMELA DRUCKERMAN This isn’t World War II all over again. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT Op-Ed Contributor [Bashar al-Assad Knows What He Can Get Away With]( By FAYSAL ITANI Syria’s president watches Washington carefully. He wouldn’t use chemical weapons if he thought it would endanger his regime. Op-Ed Contributor [Trump’s One-Night Stand Turns Into a Legal Nightmare]( By HARRY LITMAN With the help of the California courts, Stormy Daniels is entering into a long-term relationship with the president. Op-Ed Contributor [How to Make Facebook More Accountable]( By MARK PENN Facebook and other major internet companies should take responsibility for their news content or else license media companies to do it for them. Op-Ed Contributor [How Trump Misunderstands Trade]( By VERONIQUE DE RUGY Americans have plenty of things to worry about — trade deficits shouldn’t be one of them. Op-Ed Contributor [Lilly Ledbetter: My #MeToo Moment]( By LILLY LEDBETTER This year, I’ve realized that my story about sexual harassment at work should be as much a part of my fight for women as my pay discrimination story. Op-Ed Contributor [#MeToo Comes to the Cosby Courtroom]( By DEBORAH TUERKHEIMER Accusers often face skeptical juries in sexual assault cases. But now jurors may have a better understanding of how the world really works. Op-Ed Contributor [Finance Isn’t Just for Fat Cats]( By TYLER PAGER Villagers gather regularly and deposit tiny sums — often less than a dollar — into a pool. Opinion [Sinclair: Worse Than One Viral Video]( The Sinclair Broadcast Group’s biased programming may soon be available in 72 percent of U.S. households. That’s bad news for local media. Editorial [New York’s Public Housing Chief Steps Down]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Shola Olatoye faced calls for her resignation over a variety of serious problems, but the challenges will be the same no matter who’s in charge. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Letters [Responding to the Chemical Attack in Syria]( Readers discuss thorny issues surrounding the civil war in Syria, including how to rebuild the country. Letters [Withdrawing From Antidepressants]( An article about antidepressant withdrawal set off a controversy in the mental health community. Psychiatrists and a patient urge caution. 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