Looks like Donald Trump may need yet another new attorney
According to Rolling Stone, several of Donald Trump’s advisors have been warning him to drop Evan Corcoran, who is also one of Trump’s lawyers. They are reacting to the news that Corcoran may be in trouble with the DOJ. If he is, that will be because of Donald Trump, so no point in dropping him now. We are all the company we keep, and Corcoran was paid to protect his client, even if he lied for him and helped him commit crimes. While Trump’s other lawyers and political friends claim that they have reviewed information that causes them to believe the DOJ has a “strong case” against Corcoran, they miss the point. One of those potential charges is obstruction of justice, which includes Donald Trump. Trump instructed Corcoran, and you better believe that if Corcoran is charged, he will take Trump with him.
As the Hill reported, Jack Smith going after Corcoran speaks volumes about the case. As prosecutors start climbing the criminal tree, they eventually make their way to the top. Smith would not be issuing subpoenas to people like Corcoran and Mike Pence if he wasn’t already onto something. Pence thinks he can get out of testifying by claiming executive privilege, but we’ll see how far that goes once Smith is able to pierce attorney-client privilege with Corcoran. Smith seeks to circumvent attorney-client because he believes that Corcoran gave Trump advice in furtherance of a crime. This issue will, of course, come down to a judge ruling that this is indeed the case, but Smith is showing that he is letting nothing or no one stop him in the investigation he has been tasked with handling. The problem for both Corcoran and Trump is that evidence in the classified documents case is irrefutable. The months that passed while the National Archives tried to retrieve the documents on its own, culminating in the FBI search warrant, is enough to show that Trump refused to return the documents, thereby willfully withholding them from their rightful owner. That is where the crux of Smith looking into Corcoran lies.
Corcoran has been questioned on this issue before-before the FBI served its subpoena on Mar-a-Lago. Christina Bobb, who signed the certification stating that there were no other classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, already threw Corcoran under the bus by testifying that she required specific language to protect herself from the certification. When asked about that certification before the grand jury, Corcoran claimed privilege. Now, Smith’s job is to tear down that privilege, and he is trying to do so based on the “crime-fraud exception.” If he is successful, Corcoran must testify. Because Trump’s other attorneys and political allies are urging him to drop Corcoran, they know something a lot of us don’t or they at least feel that Smith will be successful. It is, however, far too late to drop Corcoran. The crimes have already been committed, and they cannot un-ring the proverbial bell. Trump probably does need at least one new attorney-a criminal attorney, and he will be needing him or her sooner than he may think.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years