investigating former president


In a monumental ruling Friday, a federal judge ordered Donald rump's attorney Evan Corcoran to provide additional testimony as part of an investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, a source familiar with the matter said.

Corcoran has the potential to become one of the most crucial witnesses in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigation into possible mishandling of classified records after the rump presidency and obstruction of justice.

District Judge Beryl Howell said in an order under seal that Justice Department prosecutors have met the threshold for the crime-fraud exception for Corcoran, the source said.The scope of what DOJ will be allowed to ask, however, was not immediately clear.

The rump’s team is expected to appeal and ask for the judge’s order to be stayed while legal proceedings play out.The decision hands the rump yet another loss under seal in court as his team and allies have tried to hold off Smith’s investigators from learning about direct conversations the former president had with some of his closest advisers.

The development is particularly notable because of accusations prosecutors would have made about the rump as they argued to the judge for the grand jury testimony.A rump spokesperson said the ruling is a “violation of due process.”

“Whenever prosecutors target the attorneys, that’s usually a good indication their underlying case is very weak. If they had a real case, they wouldn’t need to play corrupt games with the Constitution. Every American has the right to consult with counsel and have candid discussions – this promotes adherence to the law,” the spokesperson said.

When Corcoran first testified to the grand jury in January, he was asked about what happened in the lead-up to the August search of the rump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.Corcoran had drafted a statement in June that attested rump’s team had done a “diligent search” and there were no more classified documents at the rump’s Florida residence.

After that, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found hundreds of government records, including classified material, raising questions about the lawyer’s attestation.

Last edited by Spunky (3/17/2023 5:40 pm)