Big Deal

Mar 25, 2023

March 25, 2023 Top Line Trump attorney Evan Corcoran testified Friday in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case after he was ordered to share information with the grand jury that would otherwise be shielded under attorney-client privilege — a development that Could have detrimental effects for former President Donald. Trump. - Advertisement - M. Ivan Corcoran, former President Donald Trump’s attorney, arrives in federal court in , [+] Washington, DC, March 24. All rights reserved. important facts - Advertisement - Corcoran was ordered to provide further testimony and records to the grand jury after she declined to answer questions when she appeared in court for the first time in February. Government A “crime-fraud exception” applies that waives the attorney-client privilege — meaning there is evidence to suggest those communications were used to help Trump commit a crime. The Justice Department is probing Trump after federal investigators recovered hundreds of classified White House documents from Mar-a-Lago, both to determine whether Trump violated federal laws surrounding the handling of government documents And whether he obstructed the investigation of the government by hiding the documents. government, even if they are subpoenaed to turn them over. - Advertisement - Corcoran drafted a letter in June, 2022, saying that the documents Trump had turned over to the government were all classified documents left at Mar-a-Lago, which later proved to be false, Because investigators later recovered an additional 100 points when they discovered the march. -a-Lago next month. The government has reportedly argued that there is evidence that Trump “intentionally concealed” additional classified documents from Corcoran, leading the attorney to defraud the government, the sources said. ABC News , Prosecutors want to question Corcoran about his June letter — and what Trump knew about it — as well as his conversations with Trump, including the subpoenas. CNN And this new York Times Report. Prosecutors also want to ask Corcoran about a phone call the day the Trump Organization called for Mar-a-Lago’s surveillance footage that later showed workers leaving a secure room where documents were kept. were going Archived according to CNN, noting that witnesses testified that the boxes were moved at Trump’s direction. important quotes "This could open the door to Mr. Corcoran giving direct evidence regarding the obstruction of the former president [the Mar-A-Lago] investigation," said former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissman msnbc Regarding the court's decision to let Corcoran testify. chief critic Trump and his lawyers have heavily criticized the government's efforts to evade Corcoran's attorney-client privilege and compel him to testify. A Trump spokesman said, "There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any of the cases against President Trump." ABC News , "The real story here is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they don't have a case." tangent line records Corcoran has been asked to turn over in the investigation - which is to ABC reports The transcripts—included "handwritten notes, invoices, and transcriptions of personal audio recordings"—could prove damaging to Trump as well, legal experts have speculated. Former US Attorney Harry Littman said, "Think what these transcriptions could reveal about an apparently clueless Trump." Twitter , "The smoking gun may have been what brought him down." amazing facts Legal experts puzzled by the surprising speed with which the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected Trump's appeal to shield Corcoran's testimony after a district court judge ordered the crime-fraud exception to be invoked. Went. The appeals court ordered Trump's lawyers to submit their argument for the appeal by midnight on Wednesday, March 22, and the government to respond by 6 a.m. the same day, before throwing the appeal back Wednesday afternoon, Politico reports , Scott Anderson, an attorney and senior fellow at Columbia University's National Security Law Program, estimated Twitter The motion may indicate the DOJ "thinks there is classified information still out in the wild and that Corcoran may be taking them in." main background The Justice Department has been investigating Trump's handling of the Mar-a-Lago documents since February 2022, when Trump voluntarily turned over some documents to the National Archives in January and the government learned the former president had moved classified material to his Florida home. was brought back to the property. , the government has been fine so far more than 300 Classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, including those with the most top-secret designation, and more than 11,000 unclassified. In addition to the obstruction, court filings have indicated that the government is investigating whether Trump violated four federal laws relating to government documents, including the Espionage Act, which prohibits the unauthorized possession of materials related to national security. Corcoran's testimony comes at a time when Trump already faces potentially imminent criminal charges in several other investigations. The Manhattan district attorney is expected to file charges against Trump as soon as next week stemming from "hush money" payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, may also soon charge Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The Justice Department is also conducting a separate investigation into the post-election efforts of Trump and his associates in addition to the Mar-a-Lago investigation.