A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered an attorney for Donald Trump to turn over documents to prosecutors as part of an investigation into the former president’s keeping of classified documents at his Florida estate.
What You Need to Know A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered an attorney for Donald Trump to turn over documents to prosecutors as part of an investigation into the former president’s keeping of classified documents at his Florida estate
Although attorney-client privilege protects attorneys from sharing details of their conversations with clients in front of prosecutors, the Justice Department can get around this if it can convince a judge that an attorney’s services were engaged by a client to further a crime — a principle , known in law as the “crime fraud exception.”
Attorney M. Evan Corcoran is considered relevant to the investigation in part because he authored a statement to the Justice Department last year alleging that a “diligent search” for classified documents was being conducted at Mar-a-Lago in response a summons had been carried out. Months later, however, FBI agents searched the home with a search warrant and found about 100 other documents with classified markings
The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump or someone close to him interfered with efforts to recover all classified documents, including top secret material, from his home
The order is reflected in a brief memo from a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The case is sealed, none of the parties to the dispute is named.
But the details appear to correspond to a behind-closed-doors battle before a lower court judge over whether M. Evan Corcoran could be compelled to produce documents or testify before the grand jury when the Justice Department’s special counsel is investigating whether Trump had top-secret information has mistreated Mar-a-Lago.
Last Friday, the outgoing US District Court Chief Justice, Beryl Howell, directed Corcoran to answer additional questions before the grand jury. He had appeared weeks earlier before the federal grand jury investigating the Mar-a-Lago affair, but had invoked attorney-client privilege to avoid answering certain questions.
Although attorney-client privilege protects attorneys from sharing details of their conversations with clients in front of prosecutors, the Justice Department can get around this if it can convince a judge that an attorney’s services were engaged by a client to further a crime — a principle , known in law as the “crime fraud exception.”
According to a person familiar with the matter, Howell ruled in favor of the Justice Department shortly before stepping down as the presiding judge. That decision was subsequently appealed, and court records show that the dispute before the federal appeals committee concerned an order issued by Howell last Friday.
The three-person panel that made the decision consists of Cornelia Pillard, an appointment from former President Barack Obama, and J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, both appointments from President Joe Biden.
A Corcoran attorney did not immediately respond to a call Wednesday for comment, and a Trump attorney declined to comment on the sealed order.
Corcoran is considered relevant to the investigation in part because he wrote a statement to the Justice Department last year alleging that a “careful search” for classified documents was being conducted at Mar-a-Lago in response to a subpoena may be. Months later, however, FBI agents searched the home with a search warrant and found about 100 other documents with classified markings.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump or someone close to him interfered with efforts to recover all classified documents, including top secret material, from his home.
