By Ken Dilanian and Zoë Richards; Edited by News Gate Team
A source told NBC News that special counsel Jack Smith has asked a judge to allow prosecutors to invoke the “crime fraud” exception and sidestep attorney-client privilege.
Scott Eisen / Getty Images file
According to a source familiar with the situation, the special counsel looking into Donald Trump’s handling of secret documents is attempting to compel a previous president’s attorney to testify before a grand jury.
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According to the source, prosecutors claim in a sealed document that they have proof that some of Trump’s interactions with the lawyer were used to promote a crime.
The source claimed that special counsel Jack Smith has asked a judge to permit prosecutors to use what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which would let them avoid protections provided to Trump attorney Evan Corcoran through attorney-client privilege, as a sign of an aggressive new legal strategy, first reported by The New York Times.
The source did not say what questions the government is trying to force Corcoran to answer.
NBC News has asked Corcoran and a Trump spokesperson for comment.
FBI agents with a warrant searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida in August to recover classified material after they determined that a certification signed by his custodian of record at the time, which claimed all sensitive records had been returned, was inaccurate.
According to an earlier report from NBC News, Christina Bobb, who served as Trump’s official custodian at the time, told investigators that Corcoran had written a statement for her to sign certifying that all sensitive records in Trump’s possession had been turned over to the government.
Trump, who announced his third run for president in November, has referred to the search for secret papers as a “witch hunt,” accusing Democrats of using the Justice Department as a weapon against him.
President Joe Biden’s Delaware home and a workplace he used in Washington, D.C., during the Trump administration, were both found to contain Obama-era sensitive documents, the Justice Department announced in January. Robert Hur will investigate these documents.
In addition to overseeing an inquiry into Trump’s role in the violence on January 6, 2021, Smith’s office has subpoenaed members of the Trump administration, including former national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
Mike Pence, the former vice president, was served with a subpoena last week by Smith. Pence intends to challenge the subpoena, according to a reliable source on Tuesday.
By Ken Dilanian and Zoë Richards; Edited by News Gate Team
