In a monumental judgement , Trump’s Lawyer Corcoran is now in serious legal trouble.
On Friday, a federal judge ordered Trump’s lawyer Evan Corcoran to provide additional testimony, overruling his appeal for attorney-client privilege. This ruling can be monumental and open up new information for the investigation, which has been going on since last year.
On Friday, Beryl Howel, the chief justice of the district court of Columbia, came to the ruling after it was found that Corcoran could possibly be involved in the illegal activities of his client. The justice department provided prima facie evidence that showed that the legal advice provided by Corcoran to Trump could have furthered criminal activities.
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The DOJ’s appeal
Jack Smith, special counsel of the DOJ, has appealed for weeks for a federal judge in Washington to force Evan Corcoran to testify about an alleged phone call between him and Donald Trump on June 24, 2022. It would have been the same day when Trump was subpoenaed for surveillance footage from the Mar-a-Lago resort. This subpoena came after the growing suspicion of the government that the former president was illegally retaining classified documents even after his legal team claimed that all documents had been submitted.
Corcoran’s involvement
In June of last year, Corcoran produced 30 documents with classified markings for the Justice Department. He had drafted a statement saying that there were no other documents and that their legal team had conducted a “diligent search”. But the Justice Department had found proof that more documents with classified markings remained at the resort, which led to the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago in August.
In January, Corcoran first appeared before the grand jury. Then, he had refused to answer questions about his discussions with his clients before the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s response
According to The Guardian,Trump’s legal team will seek a stay of the order pending an appeal. This could further prolong the case given how long it takes the US court of appeals in Washington, DC, and the Supreme Court to come to a ruling.
A Trump spokesperson has told the media that whenever prosecutors targeted the attorneys it showed that they did not have a strong case. He added, “If they (the prosecutors) had a real case, they wouldn’t need to play corrupt games with the Constitution” citing that Americans have the right to consult their (legal) counsel.
Trump’s staff in trouble
Corcoran is among the three of Trump’s lawyers, along with Christina Bobb and Alina Habba, his civil attorney, to have appeared before the court.
Apart from them, several other staff members of Mar-a-Lago, including housekeepers and restaurant servers, have been subpoenaed. One employee, who reportedly spoke to the investigators in the case, was seen in security camera footage moving boxes with Walt Nauta, Trump’s aide, now a key witness, from a storage room in Mar-a-Lago
FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
On August 8, last year, the FBI searched the former president’s residence, Mar-a-Lago, and found a total no. of 101 classified government documents.
The charges for the search warrant were :
- breaking the Espionage Act regarding the unauthorised retention of classified documents.
- destroying or concealing records “with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence” federal government activity
- Illegal removal or obstruction of federal government records
Corcoran could become one of the vital witnesses in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation against Trump for possible mishandling and obstruction of federal government records.
