The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s prosecution for retaining classified documents has announced plans to schedule a hearing to consider excluding key evidence pivotal to the obstruction-of-justice charges against the former president. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon stated she would hold an evidentiary hearing to reassess a previous decision that allowed prosecutors to access damaging memos from Trump’s former lawyer, Evan Corcoran, under the crime-fraud exception.
The crime-fraud exception permits prosecutors to review confidential communications between a defendant and their lawyer if the legal advice is used to further a crime. This upcoming hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, will see Trump’s legal team attempt to overturn a significant prosecutorial victory that granted access to evidence indicating Trump’s reluctance to comply with a subpoena demanding the return of classified documents.
Should Judge Cannon decide to exclude even a portion of this evidence, it could significantly weaken the case against Trump. Conversely, if the evidence remains intact, the resolution process could extend for weeks, aligning with Trump’s strategy to delay the proceedings as much as possible.
The obstruction charges focus on Trump’s incomplete compliance with a grand jury subpoena issued on May 11, 2022, which demanded the return of any classified documents in his possession. This was months before the FBI seized 101 classified documents during a search of Mar-a-Lago. The Corcoran memos, first reported by the Guardian, have been crucial in supporting the charge that Trump conspired with his valet, Walt Nauta, and property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, to hide boxes of classified documents, preventing Corcoran from ensuring their return.
The indictment quotes the memos, revealing Trump’s responses such as, “Well, what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” and “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” Additionally, Trump allegedly suggested, “Well, look, isn’t it better if there are no documents?” After Corcoran discovered 38 classified documents in a storage room, Trump reportedly asked, “Did you find anything? … Is it bad? Good?” while making a plucking motion, implying that anything particularly incriminating should be removed.
Judge Cannon’s decision to reopen the litigation over the crime-fraud exception follows a sealed hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, where Trump’s lawyers argued that the exception should not have been applied. Prosecutors objected, suggesting that revisiting the memos would amount to a “mini-trial.” However, Cannon dismissed this argument, emphasizing the need to adjudicate the contested factual and legal issues.
This decision aligns with Cannon’s pattern of wanting to make her own rulings on matters previously litigated in other courts during the criminal investigation. The crime-fraud exception to the memos was initially decided by Beryl Howell, then chief federal judge in the District of Columbia, and upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March 2022 after Trump and Corcoran challenged the ruling.
Last Friday, Cannon held a hearing to consider whether Special Counsel Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed, despite multiple federal courts affirming the attorney general’s authority to appoint special prosecutors. While Cannon denied Trump’s request to suppress the classified documents seized by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, she allowed a narrower legal challenge to the search to proceed. She expressed a desire to further explore whether the FBI agents executing the search warrant had been given definitions of terms like “presidential records” or “national defense information” in identifying what the warrant authorized them to seize.
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials. Prosecutors allege that he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information, ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to national defense capabilities, and took steps to obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve the documents.
Efforts to recover the documents began in early 2022 when National Archives officials retrieved 15 boxes of presidential records that Trump had taken to his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving the White House. Trump was subsequently subpoenaed for the return of additional documents. In June, federal agents visited Mar-a-Lago to search for more materials, after which a Trump attorney signed a statement attesting that all classified documents had been turned over. However, two months later, the FBI raided the estate and found over 100 additional classified documents.
In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate. Trump has denied all charges, labeling the probe a political witch hunt.
The investigation has seen numerous developments, including the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel, the overturning of a special master’s appointment by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the testimony of top Trump attorneys before the grand jury. The probe has also involved the questioning of Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and the cooperation of a Mar-a-Lago IT worker, which led to new obstruction charges against Trump and his aides.
As the case progresses, Judge Cannon’s decision to hold a hearing on the crime-fraud exception could significantly impact the prosecution’s ability to use key evidence against Trump. The outcome of this hearing will be crucial in determining the strength of the obstruction-of-justice charges and the overall trajectory of the case.
Source: The Guardian, ABC News
