Court rejects Trump’s urgent bid to keep lawyer’s records from spec counsel

Source: Politico | March 22, 2023 | Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

Court rejects Trump’s urgent bid to keep lawyer’s records from special counsel

The ruling effectively permits the Justice Department to circumvent Trump’s attorney-client privilege after a lower-court judge found that the documents likely contain evidence of a crime.

A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to prevent special counsel Jack Smith from obtaining key documents from a lawyer for the former president related to the handling of sensitive national security records discovered at Trump’s Florida home last year.

The ruling effectively permits the Justice Department to circumvent Trump’s attorney-client privilege after a lower-court judge found that the documents likely contain evidence of a crime. That finding by U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell on Friday triggers the “crime-fraud” exception to the usual attorney-client secrecy, the judge ruled.

Trump’s bid to appeal Howell’s ruling unfolded with extraordinary speed on Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday.

After setting middle-of-the-night deadlines for filings in the dispute, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon declined Trump’s request for a stay of Howell’s ruling, ordering attorney Evan Corcoran to provide records to a Washington-based grand jury assigned to the special counsel’s probe.

The appeals court’s full order was not released, so it was not immediately clear whether Corcoran would be required to testify in addition to providing documents. But a summary of the D.C. Circuit’s order indicated that prosecutors had prevailed and that stay requests from the Trump camp were denied.

It’s also unclear whether the panel provided any time for Trump to challenge the decision before the full bench of the appeals court or to seek relief from the Supreme Court.

Howell ruled on Friday that Trump’s attorney-client privilege had to yield to the grand jury’s need for Corcoran’s testimony and records, given evidence that the attorney had been used to advance a crime. Smith’s probe is exploring potential obstruction of justice of the classified-documents investigation, as well as illegal retention of classified information and theft of government records, according to court filings.

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