Former President Donald Trump's legal troubles got considerably worse this week when a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that one of Trump's lawyers must appear for questioning before the Washington grand jury investigating the handling of classified documents after Trump left office.
Washington, D.C., district court judge Beryl Howell wrote last week in a sealed ruling that there was evidence "showing that the former president had committed criminal violations," ABC News reported, and denied privilege claims made by Trump's legal team to keep lawyer M. Evan Corcoran off the witness stand.
Corcoran will testify Friday. Here's what we know about the latest development in the case.
Bannon was convicted on two counts of criminal contempt. The case is now under appeal.
Who is M. Evan Corcoran?
Corcoran is a former federal prosecutor turned defense attorney. Before being hired by Trump in April 2022 to help mount his defense in the FBI investigation of the former president's alleged mishandling of classified documents, Corcoran helped defend Trump ally Steve Bannon in a contempt of Congress case after Bannon defied a subpoena and refused to testify before the House Jan. 6 select committee.
Why does Special Counsel Jack Smith want to question Corcoran?
Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump's retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and home after he left the White House, will likely question Corcoran about a May 11 subpoena from the Justice Department seeking the return of all classified documents.
Corcoran drafted a response to that subpoena, which was signed by Christina Bobb, another Trump attorney. It stated that Trump's team had conducted a "diligent search" of Mar-a-Lago and that all documents had been handed over.
A subsequent FBI search of the property turned up more than 100 additional classified documents, including some found in Trump's office. At issue is whether Trump was aware of the false claims made to the government in the statement Corcoran drafted. Smith, sources told ABC News, believes Trump intentionally misled his lawyers about the documents.
What evidence will be presented to the grand jury?
Howell ordered Corcoran to turn over notes and transcriptions of personal audio recordings of conversations he had with Trump to Smith's team. Those documents, of which there are said to be dozens, might reveal whether Trump lied to Corcoran as the two discussed the case.
Los Angeles Times legal affairs reporter Harry Litman stressed the significance of Howell's ruling given that the recordings in question were made prior to the FBI's search at Mar-a-Lago that turned up the trove of classified documents. Litman is a former federal prosecutor.
Aren't Trump's conversations with Corcoran protected by attorney-client privilege?
One of the foundations of the U.S. legal system is the concept of attorney-client privilege, meaning that communications and conversations between a lawyer and the person they represent can be kept private.
There is a carve-out to that rule, however: the crime-fraud exception, which allows that privacy to be breached when there is credible suspicion that a crime may have been committed in the course of those interactions.
It would be a crime, for instance, if Trump or Corcoran knowingly lied to the government about the classified documents being kept at Mar-a-Lago.