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An appeals court on Wednesday rejected an effort by former President Donald Trump’s attorneys to block Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran from having to testify and hand over records to special counsel Jack Smith’s team investigating Trump’s handling of classified records after leaving the White House, according to court records.
The three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled extraordinarily swiftly against the request for a stay by Trump’s attorneys, who sought to block an order last Friday by the chief judge for the D.C. District Court, who determined the government had made a prima facie case that Corcoran’s legal services were likely used by Trump in the furtherance of a crime.
Corcoran was expected to testify as soon as Friday, sources said.MORE: Sources: Special counsel claims Trump deliberately misled his attorneys about classified documents, judge wrote
D.C. district judge Beryl Howell ruled that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith’s office had made a “prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,” according to sources who described her Friday order, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers, Corcoran and Jennifer Little, could therefore be pierced.
Sources familiar with the matter further described to ABC New the six topics that Corcoran was ordered by Judge Howell to testify about, over which he had previously sought to assert attorney-client privilege.
The topics indicate that Smith has zeroed in on Trump’s actions surrounding his response to a May 11 DOJ subpoena that sought all remaining classified documents in his possession — which investigators have described as key to Trump’s alleged “scheme” to obstruct the investigation, sources said.
