Tonight on The Readout, you're entitled to believe in trust, advice of counsel.

You have one of the leading constitutional scholars in the United States, John Eastman,

say, to President Trump, this is a protocol that you can follow, it's legal.

That eliminates criminal intent.

Trump's emerging defense, the lawyer said I could do it.

And what it tells us about the emerging crisis of lawyering in America.

Plus, you just knew it was going to get worse.

New reporting out today on even more lavish gifts, bestowed upon Clarence Thomas

by his wealthy, right-wing benefactors.

But we begin tonight with a pop quiz.

Where did President Abraham Lincoln go to law school?

The anchor may surprise you.

I mean, the answer may surprise you.

And the answer is nowhere.

That is correct.

He was a self-taught lawyer.

And yet his judgment that seceding from the union was unconstitutional, shaped the country

we live in today more than almost any other action by a U.S. President.

Lincoln also had a big influence on the practice of law, writing notes for a law lecture in

around 1850 that laid out guidelines for being a good lawyer, such as being among other

things, diligent, moral, a good businessman, and above all, honest, above all, honest.

Qualities the Illinois State Bar Association says are what defines the term Lincoln lawyer.

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