Fordham Law Professor Bruce Green was quoted in The Atlantic about the proper way for a government lawyer to react if the president were to order a wiretap.
Bruce Green, a law professor at Fordham and a former federal prosecutor said a president ordering a wiretap would be unusual, to say the least.
“It would obviously be improper for the government to seek wiretap authorization for partisan political purposes, rather than legitimate criminal investigative or national security purposes as set out in the application to the court,” said Green. “In prior administrations, if a President directed the Attorney General or another government lawyer to seek wiretap authorization for illegitimate reasons, the lawyer would have been expected to try to dissuade the President and, if the President persisted in giving this order, to refuse and/or resign.”
A judge would also likely refuse such a request. “An ethical government lawyer would be expected to disclose the President’s involvement to the court, which could then be expected to deny authorization,” Green said.