How Trump lawyers testifying in Mar-a-Lago case could hurt him

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This will be fun to watch

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https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/trump-lawyers-mar-lago-case-doj-rcna70445?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma&taid=63eb31ca69067d0001d6a6cd&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

It’s usually not a good sign when your lawyers testify in the grand jury probe against you, and former President Donald Trump may learn that the hard way.

We learned recently that Trump lawyers Christina Bobb and Evan Corcoran reportedly testified in special counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury probe into the former president’s handling of classified material at Mar-a-Lago. It’s one of the two probes Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to handle, the other being the Jan. 6 investigation, which is also progressing against the former president along with state probes in Georgia and New York.

And while it may sound aggressive to have lawyers testify, Smith merely appears to be taking the step of determining the full extent of Trump’s potential obstruction. That’s because the Trump team's representations to the Department of Justice have already come under scrutiny in the investigation that required a court order to search the former president’s Florida residence and seize evidence last year. As The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday:

Ms. Bobb had previously spoken with federal investigators. In an October interview, Ms. Bobb said Mr. Corcoran had assured her that he conducted a thorough search of Mar-a-Lago before he asked her to certify that all records requested by a subpoena had been returned, the Journal reported. Ms. Bobb at the time insisted on adding language to the certification that said she was acting “based upon the information that has been provided to me,” and “to the best of my knowledge.”

And the full extent of the Trump team’s cooperation in the matter is still unclear. So Smith likely wants to see how directly he can tie all of this to the former president himself. (Trump has denied any wrongdoing in this case.)

As I’ve written previously, Trump’s potential obstruction of the documents investigation could be what earns him criminal charges, based on past DOJ precedent, as opposed to what we know about the documents situations involving President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. There's no reason for Biden and Pence to worry about charges based on what we know to date.

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1. Third Trump attorney appears before federal grand jury investigating Mar-a-Lago documents Paula Reid

Make Attorneys Get Attorneys

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https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/politics/alina-habba-trump-attorney-grand-jury-maralago/index.html

Alina Habba, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, appeared last month before a federal grand jury investigating the mishandling of classified documents from his time in the White House, two sources familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Habba is the third Trump lawyer known to have been brought before the DC-based grand jury, which is investigating obstruction in addition to criminal violations of government records laws.

While Habba has not played the prominent role that other Trump attorneys have played in responding to the documents probe, which spilled out in public view with an August FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, she has made notable TV appearances defending Trump and criticizing the federal documents probe.

Habba also has been a lead attorney in litigation related to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case against the Trump family and their business for alleged financial fraud. In that role, she personally searched several Trump properties – including Trump’s residence and private office at Mar-a-Lago – weeks before the FBI search.

She was tasked with recovering any Trump Organization documents that James was seeking but told a New York court she didn’t find any records covered by the subpoena from the attorney general.

[Hekate]

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