Trump wins small victory against DOJ in classified documents case

Over a month ago we told you that Joe Biden’s DOJ was trying to force one of Trump’s attorneys to break attorney/client privilege and testify against him in their classified documents case.

Federal prosecutors asked a federal judge to force Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to testify using a “crime-fraud” exception and the Obama appointed judge overseeing the case, Judge Beryl Howell, agreed with them and ordered Corcoran to do so.

But today we learn that a federal appeals court has stayed the decision temporarily:

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday stayed an order from then-Chief Judge Beryl Howell that would have compelled Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to testify again before a federal grand jury looking into the former president’s handling of the classified documents, Fox News has confirmed.

Both the special counsel and the Trump legal team were asked for responses regarding Corcoran’s testimony. Trump’s legal team submitted filings as required before midnight and DOJ met the 6 a.m. deadline Wednesday.

The court’s decision comes after Howell – whose role as chief judge expired over the weekend when the rotating position was given to Judge James Boasberg – sided with federal investigators and issued an order moving Corcoran to testify in detail about conversations he had with Trump over documents later seized by the FBI at his Mar-A-Lago Florida estate last summer.

Sources say Corcoran had initially refused to speak with the federal grand jury about several crucial matters. Special Counsel Jack Smith then asked Howell to decide whether the “crime-fraud” exception to attorney-client privilege could compel Corcoran’s further testimony. That testimony exception would apply to alleged conversations related to a possible plan to commit a crime.

I hope it’s a good sign that the appeals court stayed the decision, but that may just be procedural to give both parties a chance to submit their arguments.

Should Trump’s team win this appeal permanently, it will be a huge development in the case.

After all, how much of a case can Biden’s DOJ have against Trump if they are resorting to attempts to get his lawyer to break his confidentiality oath to testify against him?


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