A judge ordered Trump's lawyer to give more testimony in Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe: report
- A federal judge ordered Trump's lawyer to provide more grand jury testimony in the Mar-a-Lago case.
- The DOJ is investigating whether Trump potentially mishandled classified documents.
Former President Donald Trump's lawyer, Evan Corcoran, must provide more grand jury testimony about Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home, a federal judge ruled on Friday, according to several news reports.
Corcoran had previously claimed attorney-client privilege, or the right to keep communications confidential between him and Trump, when testifying before the grand jury in Washington, DC, earlier this year, refusing to answer some of the investigators' questions.
Federal prosecutors sought to bypass the privilege by invoking the crime-fraud exception, which is raised in situations when it's believed legal advice has been given in furtherance of a crime.
US District Judge Beryl Howell, in Friday's order, dismissed Corcoran's claims of attorney-client privilege, finding that federal prosecutors had met the threshold for the exception.
The ruling compels Corcoran to provide additional testimony before the grand jury investigating the classified documents case — one of at least four major ongoing criminal inquiries involving Trump.
US special counsel Jack Smith, overseeing the Mar-a-Lago probe, is also in charge of the Justice Department's investigation into Trump's interference in the 2020 election results and his role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Georgia's Fulton County is also investigating Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the state's 2020 elections results.
Separately, the Manhattan district attorney's office is investigating Trump's connection to an alleged hush-money payment made during his 2016 campaign to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, a case in which potential charges against Trump could be near.