by The special counsel investigating Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents is seeking to force a lawyer for the former president to testify before a grand jury, a source familiar with the matter said.
Prosecutors allege in a sealed filing that they have evidence that some of Trump’s conversations with the lawyer were in furtherance of a crime, the source said.
In a sign of an aggressive new legal strategy, first reported Per The New York Times, the source said special counsel Jack Smith asked a judge to allow prosecutors to invoke what’s known as the felony fraud exception, which would allow them to circumvent protections afforded to Trump’s lawyer. , Evan Corcoran, through attorney-client privilege.
The source did not say which questions the government is trying to force Corcoran to answer.
NBC News has asked Corcoran and a Trump spokesman for comment.
FBI agents with a warrant searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida in August to recover classified material after determining that a certification signed by his records custodian at the time, stating that all confidential records had been been returned, it was inaccurate.
NBC News previously reported that Trump’s records custodian at the time, Christina Bobb, told investigators that Corcoran had redacted and asked her to sign a letter certifying that all confidential records in Trump’s possession had been returned to the government. .
Trump, who announced a third run for the White House in November, has called the search for classified documents a “witch hunt,” saying it is an effort by Democrats to arm the Justice Department against him.
The Justice Department said in January that Robert Hur would examine classified Obama-era material found at President Joe Biden’s Delaware home and an office he used in Washington, DC, during the Trump administration.
Smith’s office has subpoenaed Trump administration officials, such as former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, as it also oversees an investigation into Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 riots.
Last week, Smith issued a subpoena to former Vice President Mike Pence. A source close to Pence said Tuesday that he plans to fight the subpoena.
Vaughn Hillyard contributed.
