Trump attorney hires his own attorney as DOJ classified documents probe ramps up

Evan Corcoran, attorney to former President Donald Trump, has secured his own lawyer as the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigates the former president's handling of classified documents discovered by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials at his Mar-a-Lago estate last year, Reuters reports.

According to the New York Times (NYT), prosecutors conducting the investigation are requesting "approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception," which enables Trump and Corcoran "to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime."

The request, NYT reports, could signal the prosecutors are accusing "Trump or his allies of using Mr. Corcoran’s services in that way."

Now, Corcoran has hired attorney and principal at Ellerman Enzinna Levy in Washington, D.C., Michael Levy, to represent him, "people familiar with the matter" told Reuters. The pair worked together as federal prosecutors years ago.

After the DOJ subpoenaed Trump last Spring to turn over any classified documents in his possession, Corcoran, according to NYT, communicated with the investigators, eventually "handing over more than 30 documents."

In August, FBI officials searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, where they found over 100 documents, for which the DOJ submitted an affidavit noting “probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would likely be revealed.

NYT reports:

'The push for Mr. Corcoran’s testimony is another sign of the aggressive efforts being made by Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the investigations into Mr. Trump, to secure testimony.'