The Justice Department successfully convinces the judge overseeing the investigation of classified Mar-a-Lago documents that Trump used his attorney Evan Corcoran to help him commit a crime
The Justice Department successfully convinced a judge in Washington DC overseeing the investigation of classified Mar-a-Lago documents that Donald Trump used his lawyer to help him commit a crime, and now prosecutors and Trump’s team they are working overnight to present your case.
Judge Beryl Howell resigned as chief justice of the court on Friday, after completing her seven-year term.
In one of its final decisions, it ruled that Evan Corcoran, a Trump lawyer, should be forced to appear again before the grand jury investigating the Mar-a-Lago document saga.
ABC News he quoted a source as saying the Justice Department provided convincing evidence why Corcoran should be forced back before the panel. CNN he later confirmed the ABC reports.
Corcoran appeared in January and repeatedly used attorney-client privilege as a reason for not answering their questions.
Evan Corcoran, one of Trump’s lawyers. Howell turned over Corcoran’s notes to the Justice Department on Friday and found evidence that Trump had used Corcoran to help him commit a crime.
Beryl Howell resigned from her position as chief judge on the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, at the end of her seven-year term. She remains on the bench, but has now been replaced as head judge.
Prosecutors asked Howell to compel him to testify again, arguing that attorney-client privilege should be revoked as there was evidence that Corcoran’s services were being used “in furtherance of a crime”.
Howell agreed to the prosecutors’ request, writing that they had provided “prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal offenses,” ABC reported.
Howell also ordered Corcoran to turn over a series of records linked to what Howell described as Trump’s alleged “criminal scheme.”
The records are believed to include handwritten notes, invoices, and transcripts of personal audio recordings.
Trump’s team appealed, and the three judges hearing the appeal — Nina Pillard, Michelle Childs and Florence Pan of the DC circuit — gave Trump until midnight Tuesday to present their reasons for blocking Corcoran’s return before the great jury.
Prosecutors will have until 6 a.m. Wednesday to present their case for why Corcoran should be compelled to testify.
CNN reported that the extremely tight, almost unheard of, deadline was a sign of the seriousness of the case.
The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in August and released this photo of some of the documents that were found
Howell, in his ruling, stressed that he was not defending the charges, noting that prosecutors had more work to do to prove they had merit.
However, Brandon Van Grack, a former senior homeland security official at the Justice Department who is now in private practice, told ABC News Howell’s decision was significant.
“It’s a minor hurdle, but it’s an indication that the government had put forward some evidence and claims that they had evidence that met the elements of a crime,” he said.
A Trump campaign spokesperson told ABC: “Shame on Fake News ABC for broadcasting ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations by Never Trump, now a former chief judge, against Trump’s legal team.”
“The real story here, which Fake News ABC SHOULD be reporting on, is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they don’t have a case.”
