Donald Trump's Lawyers Could Bring About His Downfall

Some of the evidence used to charge former President Donald Trump for illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence came from one of his own lawyers, according to the unsealed indictment.

Evan Corcoran, who is reportedly still a member of Trump's legal team, was hired by the former president to fend off the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into his handling of sensitive documents. Trump is charged with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case and claimed he is the target of a political persecution. He will appear in court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon for his arraignment.

Corcoran, a former federal prosecutor, is not charged in the indictment that was unsealed on Friday. However, if the case ultimately goes to trial, he could be a key witness for the prosecution.

While communications between lawyers and clients are normally protected under the legal doctrine of attorney-client privilege, Corcoran was forced to testify and turn over detailed notes to a grand jury weighing evidence in the classified documents probe after a judge ruled he could not shield his communications with Trump.

According to The New York Times on Sunday, the notes made by Corcoran, identified in the indictment as "Trump Attorney 1," were more damaging than previously known. Corcoran's notes were extensive, and dictated into the Voice Memos app on his iPhone after meeting with Trump, the newspaper reported.

The indictment said Trump directed his aide, Walt Nauta, to remove documents from a storage room at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to prevent Corcoran from finding them during his search. Nauta was also charged in the indictment with helping to conceal documents.

According to Corcoran's notes, the former president also suggested to Corcoran that he falsely tell government officials that he did not have any sensitive documents to turn over after receiving a subpoena.

"What happens if we just don't respond at all or don't play ball with them?" Corcoran quoted Trump as saying, according to the indictment.

Newsweek reached out to a Trump spokesperson and Corcoran via email for comment.

Meanwhile, the former president's fate in another criminal case could also rest on testimony and evidence from another man who once represented him: Michael Cohen.

Trump, who is currently campaigning to regain the White House in 2024, is facing criminal charges in New York stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations that he had an extramarital affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels a decade prior.

He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his company to hide the checks paid to Cohen, his onetime lawyer and fixer, to reimburse him for a $130,000 payment he made on Trump's behalf to Daniels. Cohen then testified before the grand jury in the case and is expected to be a star prosecution witness. In April, Trump sued Cohen, accusing him of "vast reputational harm" for talking publicly about the payments at the heart of the case.

"None of these cases are about the lawyers," Cohen told Newsweek on Monday. "They are about Donald's actions and holding him accountable for same."

In addition, Tim Parlatore, another former Trump lawyer who represented him in the classified documents case, has said federal prosecutors seem to have a strong case against the former president.

Parlatore, who left the former president's legal team in May, told CNN that the indictment "looks really bad" for Trump due to the amount of evidence and detail it contains.

Parlatore appeared on CNN last month where he said he left the team because another lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, had created conflict.

Two lawyers who also represented Trump in the classified documents case, James Trusty and John Rowley, resigned from the team the day after the former president was indicted. "It has been an honor to have spent the last year defending him," they said in a statement, "and we know he will be vindicated."

Following the departures, Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said it is "a privilege" to represent him.

"There's a lot of attorneys that want to work for Donald Trump and I want to clear that up because there's so much gossip and literally that is all it is," she said while appearing on Fox News.

Update 6/12/23, 10:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Michael Cohen.