A federal appeals panel in D.C. ruled Wednesday that Trump attorney Evan Corcoran must turn over documents to Justice Department prosecutors investigating classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
The three-judge panel last week upheld a ruling by District Court Judge Beryl Howell that Corcoran must provide notes and transcripts to Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The ruling ended a sojourn blocking the order and directed the unidentified parties to comply with the sealed order.
Donald Trump’s campaign is opposing a report based on a sealed letter from a judge about possible criminal violations in talks being shielded by Trump attorney Evan Corcoran. A panel of the Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that Corcoran must provide documents and information sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith
Prosecutors in Smith’s office had asked the judge to find a “crime fraud exception” for communications between Trump and his attorney, which would normally be protected by attorney-client privilege.
But the privilege could be denied if a judge finds it being used to hide evidence of a crime.
The process all moved quickly in a court system where long delays are common. The court asked Trump’s lawyers to submit their arguments by midnight, and the administration weighed in at 6 a.m. Wednesday. The court’s ruling came at 4 p.m.
Corcoran will testify before a grand jury on Friday in another rapid development, CNN reported.
It was not immediately known whether Trump’s team would appeal the ruling, which came from a panel of three judges appointed by Democratic presidents.
Trump’s camp issued an angry response ahead of the ruling to a report based on a federal judge’s sealed file that indicated the former president committed “criminal offenses” when she ordered a Trump attorney to testify in the case with classified documents.
A Trump spokeswoman called a news report “fake news” and “illegally leaked.”
Judge Howell last week ordered Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to comply with a subpoena to testify after investigators invoked a “crime fraud exception” that may take precedence over attorney-client privilege. Her sealed warrant would interrogate him additionally before a grand jury.
Former President Donald Trump’s team quashed developments in federal court during a week as Trump faces charges in another Manhattan case
Jack Smith was appointed as a special prosecutor by the Justice Department in November and tasked with investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents and his actions around January 6.
The apparent leak of a sealed statement and document enraged Trump’s team on Tuesday night, especially as Trump faces a potential indictment in Manhattan related to “tacit” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“Shame on Fake News ABC for airing ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations from a Never Trump, now former chief judge, against Trump’s legal team,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Liz Harrington wrote, referring to Judge Howell’s retirement.
“These leaks are happening because there is no factual or legal basis or substance for a case against President Trump,” she said wrote. “This disinformation is on par with Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, and Mueller speculation without conspiracy, all of which were totally refuted,” she continued before expanding the defense to cover all legal matters facing Trump.
“These leaks are happening because there is no factual or legal basis or substance for a case against President Trump. The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and arming the justice system to manipulate public opinion, for they are clearly losing the political battle.”
Howell issued her order last week, her final act as chief justice. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals then issued a stay late Tuesday, prompting urgent legal filings by both parties. A verdict could come on Wednesday.
All three judges of a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal who delivered the ruling are Democratic appointees, Politics noted. They told Trump’s legal team to itemize the documents forming the basis for the fight by midnight Tuesday, with the DOJ to respond by 6 a.m. Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled that Corcoran had to testify
More than 100 documents marked “classified” were subsequently identified in Mar-a-Lago during an FBI investigation following evidence of a careful search
The “crime fraud exception” may allow the suspension of attorney-client privilege when the requested testimony or documents contain evidence of a possible crime. During a previous court appearance, Corcoran, who drafted a letter testifying to a diligent search in Mar-a-Lago allegedly invoked privileges for some cases.
More than 100 documents marked “classified” were subsequently identified in Mar-a-Lago during an FBI investigation.
Howell concluded her seven-year term as chief justice on Friday with the potentially significant step of handing over notes from Trump’s attorney, Evan Corcoran, to the Justice Department.
The everyday beast called the final blow a “parting gift” to Jack Smith, the special prosecutor assigned by the DOJ to investigate both Trump’s handling of the Mar-a-Lago scandal with classified documents and his actions on Jan. 6.