Former President Donald Trump misled his own attorneys on his retention of classified documents after leaving office, a judge wrote, according to ABC News.
Sources told ABC News that U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell wrote on the matter before she stepped down as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s chief judge Friday. She wrote that prosecutors had presented sufficient preliminary evidence that Trump had knowingly and deliberately deceived his attorneys on his retention of classified documents, putting his legal team in the unenviable position of deceiving the government. Trump fervently denies the accusation.
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Howell wrote that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith’s office made a “prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations.” As such, the attorney-client privileges invoked by two of Trump’s attorneys could be discarded.
Likewise, in the sealed filing, Howell wrote that one of Trump’s attorneys, Evan Corcoran, should comply with a grand jury subpoena over previous questions that he had rejected by way of attorney-client privilege.
She also reportedly ordered Corcoran to hand over handwritten notes, invoices, and transcriptions of personal audio recordings linked to what prosecutors called Trump’s “criminal scheme.”
Things heated up Tuesday night when the court demanded further filings from involved parties be submitted by midnight. The court noted that the government would be compelled to respond by 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Trump’s campaign appeared to deny the report altogether, telling ABC News the allegations were false.
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“The real story here, that Fake News ABC SHOULD be reporting on, is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever,” the spokesperson said.
“Shame on Fake News ABC for broadcasting ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations from a Never Trump, now former chief judge, against the Trump legal team,” they added.
