Donald Trump’s attorney was back in court Friday after he was ordered to answer questions before a grand jury probing possible mishandling of classified documents at the former president’s Florida estate.
M. Evan Corcoran appeared in federal court in the District of Columbia on Friday morning, a week after a federal judge ruled in favor of the Justice Department, forcing Corcoran to answer additional questions to a grand jury, which has been hearing testimony for months. He didn’t make any comment as soon as he reached the building.
Prosecutors’ interest in Corcoran’s testimony underscores the legal crisis facing Trump, making clear the department’s continued focus
A search warrant affidavit issued last August
Corcoran is relevant to the investigation because he drafted a letter that was delivered to the department last June, saying it had conducted a “diligence search” for classified documents in response to a subpoena. About three dozen documents with classified markings were returned with the letter.
But prosecutors have said in court filings that they have developed evidence that shows additional classified documents remained at the property. The FBI returned with a search warrant on August 8 and removed approximately 100 additional classified documents, the filing shows.
Attorney-client privilege traditionally protects attorneys from being forced to share details of their conversations with prosecutors. Corcoran invoked that privilege during an earlier appearance before the grand jury when he declined to answer some questions.
But prosecutors can avoid this if they can convince a judge that a client was using such legal representation in furtherance of a crime—a doctrine known under the law as the crime-fraud exception. Is.
The Justice Department made that argument in the case, and last week obtained a sealed order from US District Judge Beryl Howell requiring Corcoran to reappear before the grand jury to answer additional questions.
Another Trump attorney, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that he volunteered six hours or seven hours before a grand jury in December to answer questions about the Trump team’s compliance. testified in kind. classified documents. ABC News previously reported his appearance.
The Mar-a-Lago investigation is being led by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who is also probing efforts by Trump and his associates to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump faces a separate investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office — into money payments during the 2016 campaign — that appears close to wrapping up, as well as efforts to reverse Trump’s election loss in Atlanta, Georgia. an investigation.