A federal appeals court this week denied a bid from former President Donald Trump’s legal team challenging a court order that attorney Evan Corcoran surrender documents related to the ongoing Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation.
Special counsel Jack Smith hadĀ securedĀ on Friday a court order that Corcoran surrendering the materials, which a panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals backed on Wednesday, according to The Hill. The three justices on the panel were all appointed by former President Barack Obama.
The Department of Justice has alleged that the Corcoran’s legal advice may have furthered a crime, a circumstance in which a court may void attorney-client privilege.Ā D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ordered that Corcoran cooperate with Smith with respect to questions he previously refused to answer due to that privilege.
Attorney General Merrick GarlandĀ appointedĀ Smith to oversee the DOJ’s Trump investigations following the former president’s announcement that he would seek the presidency in 2024.
The FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 8, 2022, seeking classified documents he may have removed from the White House.