One of former President Donald Trump's lawyers testified before a federal grand jury last month.
Evan Corcoran's appearance in front of a Washington jury is the latest twist in Special Counsel Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago classified materials investigation.
Maggie Haberman first reported on Corcoran being called before the grand jury. It is not clear under what circumstances he appeared.
Corcoran has played a vital role in overseeing Trump's responses to presidential records requests by the National Archives. He could offer firsthand insight into the controversy as well as the FBI search of the former president's primary residence.
The New York Times explains:
Mr. Corcoran has raised eyebrows within the Justice Department for his statements to federal officials assuring them that Mr. Trump had returned all classified materials in his possession.
As part of Mr. Trump's legal team, Mr. Corcoran was in discussions with the Justice Department in January 2022, after the National Archives and Records Administration recovered 15 boxes of presidential material from Mar-a-Lago containing nearly 200 individual classified documents.
In May 2022, Mr. Corcoran was in touch with the department after a grand jury subpoena was issued for any remaining classified material that Mr. Trump retained. He was also on hand the next month when the top Justice Department counterintelligence official visited Mar-a-Lago and collected more than 30 additional classified documents.
At the time, another lawyer working for Mr. Trump, Christina Bobb, signed a statement attesting that a “diligent search” for all remaining classified documents had been conducted and that what was turned over was all that remained. The attestation was drafted by Mr. Corcoran, but Ms. Bobb added language to it to make it less ironclad before signing it, according to people familiar with what took place.
But more documents remained. With the assistance of eyewitness evidence, the FBI obtained probable cause to execute a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, leading agents to find 103 additional classified documents.
Corcoran remains a member of Trump's legal team.
Neither he nor the special counsel's office is commenting. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung shared a statement denouncing the ongoing probe.
“This is nothing more than a targeted, politically motivated witch hunt against President Trump concocted to try and prevent the American people from returning him to the White House,” it read.
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