DOJ Seeks Trump Lawyer’s Testimony, Evidence of Crime

Attorneys turn down representation of clients all the time and there is no mandatory requirement that one represent every client that seeks representation.   Hence, I have remained baffled as to why reputable attorneys would ever represent Donald Trump.  Between his failure to pay legal fees, constant lies, and general moral bankruptcy, there are plently of reasons to say "no thank you." Then there's the fact that a number of Trump's attorneys have faced disciplinary actions and possible disbarment and/or found themselves in a bind with prosecutors after doing work for the king of liars.  Many of Trump's attorneys have been, in my view, crackpots who either drank Trump's Kool-Aid, wanted notariety or simply the money Trump offered to pay.  But others have had a semblance of respectability.  Now, one of Trump's attorneys is facing the prospect of being forced to testify with prosecutors pursuing an exception to the attorney-client privilege, namely the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime.  Pieces at CNN and in the New York Times look at the predicament Trump attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, now finds himself in.   Here are excerpts from the Times piece (naturally, Trump's reaction to the development is more lies):

Federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of classified documents are seeking to pierce assertions of attorney-client privilege and compel one of his lawyers to answer more questions before a grand jury, according to two people familiar with the matter, adding an aggressive new dimension to the inquiry and underscoring the legal peril facing Mr. Trump.

The prosecutors have sought approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime. The fact that prosecutors invoked the exception in a sealed motion to compel the testimony of the lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, suggests that they believe Mr. Trump or his allies might have used Mr. Corcoran’s services in that way.

Among the questions that the Justice Department has been examining since last year is whether Mr. Trump or his associates obstructed justice in failing to comply with demands to return a trove of government material he took with him from the White House upon leaving office, including hundreds of documents with classified markings.

Last May, the Justice Department issued a subpoena for any classified documents still in Mr. Trump’s possession, . . . . In June, Mr. Corcoran met with investigators and handed over more than 30 documents in response to the subpoena.

Another lawyer for Mr. Trump, Christina Bobb, then signed a statement asserting that a “diligent search” had been conducted at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s residence and private club in Palm Beach, Fla., and that there were no additional documents bearing classification markings. Ms. Bobb has told investigators and others that Mr. Corcoran drafted the statement, and that she added some caveats to it, seeking to make it sound less ironclad.

But when the F.B.I. searched Mar-a-Lago in August, agents found more than 100 additional classified documents.

Mr. Corcoran recently appeared before a grand jury in Federal District Court in Washington and is believed to have asserted attorney-client privilege on behalf of Mr. Trump in refusing to answer certain questions related to his representation in the documents investigation, according to three people familiar with the matter.

It remains unclear what questions Mr. Corcoran sought to avoid answering by asserting attorney-client privilege or what crime the Justice Department cited in invoking the crime-fraud exception in its motion to Judge Beryl A. Howell, the chief judge in the Washington federal courthouse, who oversees all grand jury matters.

But after his appearance in front of the grand jury, Mr. Corcoran received notice that the Justice Department was seeking to use the exception to break through his assertions of privilege, the people familiar with the matter said. Judge Howell, who has consistently decided in the government’s favor on privilege issues surrounding Mr. Trump, will ultimately rule on the department’s request about Mr. Corcoran.

The push for Mr. Corcoran’s testimony is another sign of the aggressive efforts being made by Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the investigations into Mr. Trump, to secure testimony. Mr. Smith is guiding both the investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of the classified documents and the inquiry into Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in office after his election defeat in 2020 and how they led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capito

A spokesman for Mr. Trump described the latest move by the Justice Department as a politically motivated witch hunt intended to block Mr. Trump from being re-elected to the White House, and predicted that it would fail.

I wonder if Corcoran is now questioning the wisdom of representing Trump - a man who lies incessantly and connot be trusted and who cares NOTHING about others and the harm he brings them.