Photo: MARCO BELLO/AFP/Getty Images
A federal judge ordered the attorney for donald trump, Evan Corcoranto testify before the grand jury convened to review the mishandling of classified White House records found at the former president’s residence in sea-a-lakevarious media reported on Friday.
In a sealed judgment by District Court Judge Beryl Howell, she found sufficient evidence that Corcoran provided legal advice in furtherance of a crime, one of the few determinations that can compel an attorney to discuss communications that would otherwise be covered by attorney-client privilege, according to The Hill.
Corcoran has the potential to become one of the most crucial witnesses in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified records after the Trump presidency and obstruction of justice in that case.
District Judge Beryl Howell said in her sealed order that Justice Department prosecutors met the threshold for Corcoran’s felony fraud exception.
A Trump spokesperson called the ruling a “due process violation,” according to CNN. “Any time prosecutors target lawyers, that is usually a good indication that their underlying case is very weak. If they had a real case, they wouldn’t need to play corrupt games with the Constitution. Every American has the right to see a lawyer and have candid discussions; this promotes compliance with the law,” the spokesperson said.
Howell’s ruling is seen by many as a significant victory for special counsel Jack Smith and could make Corcoran a key witness as prosecutors move forward with an investigation into more than 300 classified US government records. discovered at Trump’s home in Florida.
In an order to search property, prosecutors said his transfer to Mar-a-Lago could violate the Espionage Act, which prohibits removing or concealing national defense information.
When Corcoran first testified before the grand jury in January, he was asked about what happened in the lead up to the FBI’s August document search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
Corcoran drafted a statement in June 2022 attesting that the Trump’s team had conducted a “diligent search” and that there were no further classified documents at Trump’s Florida residence..
In August 2022, when the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found hundreds of government records, including classified material, doubts began to be raised about attorney Corcoran’s statement.
Keep reading:
• Dozens of Trump employees at Mar-a-Lago were subpoenaed in investigation of classified documents
• Classified documents: Trump lawyer takes precautions and hires his own lawyer
• Ex-prosecutor predicts that Trump’s lawyer would be forced to say everything in court