Trump team plans to ask Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss key evidence: report
Indicted former President Donald Trump’s legal team is planning to ask District Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss key evidence that ties him to obstruction of the FBI’s investigation into classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago, a report said Sunday.
The basis of the dismissal, his lawyers say, is that notes kept by Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran - bombshell evidence in which Trump discusses lying to investigators about the document's existence and even suggests destroying them – are covered by attorney-client privilege and should not have been turned over.
Without those notes, it would be much harder for prosecutors to prove he interfered with the probe, the Daily Beast reported.
The notes are already in the possession of Special Counsel Jack Smith and featured prominently in the 37-count indictment that was unsealed Friday. But Cannon, who was appointed by Trump and apparently selected randomly to oversee at least the beginning of his case, could rule them unusable, the Beast said.
They form the backbone of the conspiracy to obstruct justice charge, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“If it works, one source told The Daily Beast, Corcoran could be “totally in the clear,” providing a narrow boost for Trump in court—but nowhere near saving the former president entirely,” the report said.
The Beast said Corcoran’s redacted notes described a meeting with Trump that happened a week after the Feds subpoenaed him to return all documents.
“‘Well, what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” Trump wondered aloud. ‘Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?’” the report said.
“‘Well, look, isn’t it better if there are no documents?’ Trump asked.”
The argument Trump’s team could use is that privilege allows a client and their attorney to freely discuss all possible actions and their consequences, and that privilege means the discussions cannot be used to incriminate.
Former Trump lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told the Beast, “‘If another judge looks at it and says this is normal attorney client-communications, they can strike these charges out of the indictment and Corcoran’s no longer a witness.”