[chuckles]

If I told a lawyer to break the law, am I responsible if he decides to do it?

[b4me]

likely yes, but you’d be responsible in a different way than the lawyer making the choice to follow what you told them to do - especially since it’s the lawyer’s profession and responsibility to know the law and work within the law, not break it, so they are at greater fault. Stating “I was told to” changes nothing about the fault of the lawyer. Just as judges, police, etc know and work with the law and when they break it they have no excuse to say they were told to.

[chuckles]

I thought the lawyer was an officer of the court and is hired to represent the client. If I hire him/her, it seems to me I hired them for legal advice. If what I asked them to do was illegal. their response should be "That would be illegal so I can't do that". If they decide to do it, they broke the law and the client could say he didn't understand it was illegal because that's what the lawyer was for.

I just don't see the POTUS liability. It's not his signature on the checks that went to the women. If he reimbursed them later, the lawyer probably sent a bill for expenses.