Embattled Trump Attorney Headed Back in Front of Grand Jury in Classified Documents Case
Documents Scandal
A federal judge has ordered Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to give additional testimony to Mar-a-Lago investigators
A federal judge has ordered attorney Evan Corcoran to appear for additional testimony before the grand jury in the legal fight over Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, CNN reports.
In his initial appearance before investigators, Corcoran had been reticent to answer questions regarding the documents, citing attorney-client privilege with Trump, But District Judge Beryl Howell’s Friday ruling may allow investigators to bypass that privilege, according to CNN’s sources.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has expressed a particular interest in a sworn affidavit Corcoran was involved in that attested a “diligent search” of Mar-A-Lago had not returned any additional classified materials. A subsequent August raid of the property revealed the affidavit to be false.
As previously reported by Rolling Stone, Trump advisors have urged the former president to leave Corcoran to the prosecutorial wolves, letting him take the fall for any potential wrongdoing uncovered in the investigation.
Over the course of several negotiated transfers and an FBI raid, the Department of Justice has now recovered hundreds of classified documents from President Trump’s Palm Beach residence. Among the trove of materials are dozens of documents marked “top secret.” Despite legal efforts by Trump to argue and sue his way out of the investigation dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff and close confidants to the former president have been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.
As Smith and his team make breakthroughs in the Mar-a-Lago probe, Trump is facing more immediate potential fallout from multiple criminal investigations. The Manhattan District Attorney is expected to bring charges against Trump early next week for his involvement in an alleged 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Additional charges may be leveled against him by a Georgia grand jury investigating the former president’s efforts to overturn election results in the state.
