Washington
CNN
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Lawyer Evan Corcoran declined to represent former President Donald Trump in the special prosecutor’s investigation related to the Mar-a-Lago documents given that he testified to investigators, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Corcoran’s exit, first reported Washington Postwas an expected development after Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office forced him to testify without the shield of attorney-client privilege before a grand jury and prosecutors accused Trump of using his lawyer to advance the crime.
Despite withdrawing from the Mar-a-Lago investigation a few weeks ago, Corcoran continues to represent Trump on other issues, including the January 6, 2021 investigation. He appeared in court on behalf of the former president in closed hearings related to this part of the Smith investigation, just days after his testimony in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
Corcoran can still resume representing Trump in the documents case after he testified.
It is not known how valuable the evidence and testimony he provided to the grand jury will be to prosecutors. He testified twice before the grand jury and handed over the papers.
Corcoran’s own lawyer declined to comment. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheng said Saturday: “These unnamed sources have no idea what’s really going on and are spreading misinformation.”
Corcoran had a window into many of the moments Trump and his team were responding to the federal government’s efforts to recover classified documents.
He first appeared before a grand jury in January but declined to answer questions that could reveal his advice to Trump and their conversations, citing attorney-client confidentiality, a source previously told CNN. Prosecutors were then asked to take the unusual step of fighting in court to force him to answer, and a federal court ruled, until his grand jury reappearance in March, that he could no longer withhold information about the messages he had. with Trump leading to the search.
Prosecutors sought to question Corcoran about his direct interactions with Trump regarding the May 2022 subpoena for all classified records in the former president’s possession, the subsequent search for classified records, and the conversations they had when the Trump organization received a separate subpoena for surveillance. club video.
In June, Corcoran issued a statement alleging that the Trump team had conducted a thorough search of the boxes and handed over the secret tapes they had found in response to the May subpoena. Then, a few months later, the FBI uncovered hundreds more pages of secretly marked pages in a Mar-a-Lago search, marking a turning point in record mishandling and obstruction of justice.
Grand jury activity in recent weeks, including Corcoran’s coercive testimony, has made it clear that prosecutors are gathering evidence from multiple sources that could be used in the Trump case.
The former president has not been charged with any federal crimes.
This story has been updated with additional information.