Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran has provided evidence that he wasn’t allowed to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago office for classified docs.
The assertion that there were no classified documents in Trump’s office or elsewhere proved to be wrong when the FBI retrieved 101 classified documents months afterwards, including from the office, which was found to be where the most highly classified documents had been located
Corcoran’s previously unreported account, as relayed to the Guardian by two people familiar with the matter, suggests he was materially misled as the special counsel Jack Smith examines whether his incomplete search was actually a ploy by Trump to retain classified documents.
It was not clear who waved off Corcoran from searching elsewhere at Mar-a-Lago – whether it was Trump himself or Trump employees who advised him to look for classified documents in the storage room, according to an account of his testimony to the grand jury.
The evidence that Corcoran provided goes to the heart of a potential obstruction of justice case against Trump. The DOJ subpoenaed the former president, but his lawyer in charge of complying with the subpoena was not allowed to search Trump’s private office where 101 classified documents were eventually found.
It certainly looks like Trump intentionally misled his lawyer to avoid complying with the Department of Justice subpoena. If the evidence shows that is what Trump did, Jack Smith will have a treasure trove of evidence straight from Trump’s own lawyer that the former president was attempting to obstruct justice.
Special Counsel Smith could be putting together an impressively deep case against Trump. As Donald Trump is in his Truth Social corner attacking Ron DeSantis, Jack Smith continues to grind away and build the case for a federal criminal indictment against the former one-term president.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association