Appeals court sides with Justice Dept. in Trump lawyer fight
WASHINGTON -
A federal appeals court on Wednesday directed a lawyer for Donald Trump to turn over to prosecutors documents in the investigation into the former president's retention of classified documents at his Florida estate.
The order is reflected in a brief notice by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The case is sealed, and none of the parties in the dispute are mentioned by name.
But the details appear to correspond with a closed-door fight before a lower court judge over whether M. Evan Corcoran could be forced to provide documents or give grand jury testimony in the Justice Department special counsel probe into whether Trump mishandled top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago.
Last Friday, Beryl Howell, the outgoing chief judge of the U.S. District Court, directed Corcoran to answer additional questions before the grand jury. He had appeared weeks earlier before the federal grand jury investigating the Mar-a-Lago matter, but had invoked attorney-client privilege to avoid answering certain questions.
Though attorney-client privilege shields lawyers from being forced to share details of their conversations with clients before prosecutors, the Justice Department can get around that if it can convince a judge that a lawyer's services were used by a client in furtherance of a crime -- a principle known in the law as the "crime-fraud" exception.
Howell ruled in the Justice Department's favor shortly before stepping aside as chief judge, according to a person familiar with the matter. That ruling was subsequently appealed, and the court records show the dispute before the federal appeals panel concerned an order that was issued last Friday by Howell.
The three-judge panel that issued the decision include Cornelia Pillard, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, and J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, both appointees of President Joe Biden.
A lawyer for Corcoran did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Wednesday, and a lawyer for Trump declined to comment on the sealed order.
Corcoran is regarded as relevant to the investigation in part because last year he drafted a statement to the Justice Department asserting that a "diligent search" for classified documents had been conducted at Mar-a-Lago in response to a subpoena. Months later, though, FBI agents searched the home with a warrant and found roughly 100 additional documents with classified markings.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump or anyone in his orbit obstructed its efforts to recover all the classified documents, which included top-secret material, from his home.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Travellers from 13 more countries now eligible to visit Canada without a visa
Canada is expanding the list of countries whose residents are eligible to visit this country without a travel visa.
Johnston to launch foreign interference hearings in July, calls allegations of bias 'quite simply false'
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure': Experts say a national fire service could help battle wildfires
During a record-setting wildfire season, experts say prevention of more disasters is important, citing a Canada-wide fire service could help mitigate blazes.
Environment minister says he could accelerate action on climate change if he didn’t have to 'fight' the Conservative Party
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told Power Play host Vassy Kapelos it would 'greatly help' Canada's capacity to accelerate the fight against climate change if he didn't have to 'fight the Conservative Party of Canada.'
Sex harassment case involving Trudeau Foundation should be heard in N.L., lawyer says
The lawyer representing a woman who alleges she was sexually harassed by a former Northwest Territories premier says her client would likely have to end her lawsuit if a judge determines the trial should be moved to Quebec.
Ford calls for ouster, Poilievre decries Liberal response to Bernardo prison transfer
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to keep "multiple murderers" in maximum-security prison, as fallout continues over the transfer of convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security institution in Quebec.
Canadian military joined recent U.S. forum on UFOs; Pentagon trying to identify 'metallic' orbs
The Canadian military has confirmed it participated in a May 2023 forum for Five Eyes intelligence partners that was held by the director of the Pentagon's UFO research program.
Global News defends reporting in face of Han Dong lawsuit
Global News and its parent company Corus Entertainment say in response to a lawsuit filed by Han Dong that their reporting about the Toronto MP was based on a detailed investigation involving multiple sources.
A killer rabbit, jousting bear and Robin Hood walk into a bar: Ancient manuscript reveals new details on medieval comedy
A rare manuscript detailing comedy shows and drinking songs from the 15th century revealed what medieval audiences found funny more than 500 years ago.
Canada
-
Union for thousands of B.C. port workers to hold strike vote
A global trade analyst says a potential strike for more than 7,000 terminal cargo movers in ports throughout British Columbia could have dire consequences for not only the Canadian economy, but globally as well.
-
Emergency orders expanded in northeast Ont. due to forest fires
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
-
Severely entangled humpback whale rescued off Haida Gwaii, B.C.
Video shows Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) staff leading the rescue of a severely entangled humpback whale off the coast of British Columbia last week.
-
Johnston to launch foreign interference hearings in July, calls allegations of bias 'quite simply false'
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
-
'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure': Experts say a national fire service could help battle wildfires
During a record-setting wildfire season, experts say prevention of more disasters is important, citing a Canada-wide fire service could help mitigate blazes.
-
Wildfire roundup: A look at what's burning across the country and who's affected
Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair has said images of wildfires burning across Canada are some of the most severe ever witnessed in the country and the forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
World
-
Christie goes after Trump in presidential campaign launch, calling him a 'self-serving mirror hog'
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wasted no time going after Donald Trump while launching his presidential campaign on Tuesday, calling the former president and current Republican primary front-runner a "lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog" and arguing that he's the only one who can stop him.
-
Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, a state department spokesperson told CNN, the latest step toward rapprochement between the U.S. government and the de facto leader of a key U.S. ally.
-
Takeaways of AP investigation into a missing boat of 180 Rohingya refugees
On Dec. 1, 2022, a boat carrying around 180 Rohingya refugees set out from Bangladesh, bound for Indonesia. On board were babies, pregnant women and children fleeing surging violence in Bangladesh's refugee camps. One week later, the boat vanished.
-
Ukraine brands Russia 'terrorist state' to open hearings in case against Russia at top UN court
Lawyers for Ukraine told the United Nations' top court Tuesday that Russia bankrolled a 'campaign of intimidation and terror' by rebels in eastern Ukraine starting in 2014 and sought to replace Crimea's multiethnic community with 'discriminatory Russian nationalism' after its occupation and annexation of the region.
-
Gun-related deaths reached record levels in the U.S. in 2021, report says
The gun violence epidemic in the United States was deadlier than ever in 2021, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
-
2 dead in shooting after high school graduation ceremony in Virginia capital
Seven people were shot, two fatally, when gunfire rang out Tuesday outside a downtown theater where a high school graduation ceremony had recently concluded, causing attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses reported.
Politics
-
Johnston to launch foreign interference hearings in July, calls allegations of bias 'quite simply false'
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
-
Global News defends reporting in face of Han Dong lawsuit
Global News and its parent company Corus Entertainment say in response to a lawsuit filed by Han Dong that their reporting about the Toronto MP was based on a detailed investigation involving multiple sources.
-
Ford calls for ouster, Poilievre decries Liberal response to Bernardo prison transfer
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to keep "multiple murderers" in maximum-security prison, as fallout continues over the transfer of convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security institution in Quebec.
Health
-
Honolulu police: 2 dead after suspected mass overdose of fentanyl
Two people died in what officials believe was a mass fentanyl overdose over the weekend involving five people in a hotel room in the Hawaii tourist mecca of Waikiki.
-
Recalled pillows linked to 10 infant deaths still being sold on Facebook Marketplace, U.S. agency says
Federal safety regulators are urging consumers to stop using baby pillows that have been linked to 10 infant deaths but are still being sold on Facebook Marketplace, despite being recalled two years ago.
-
Using melatonin for sleep is on the rise, study says, despite potential health harms
More and more adults are taking over-the-counter melatonin to get to sleep, and some may be using it at dangerously high levels, a study has found.
Sci-Tech
-
See early stars form in a galaxy 20 million light-years away
The James Webb Space Telescope set its sights on a galaxy 20 million light-years away, capturing a dazzling star-forming galaxy in images streaked with the signature of passing asteroids.
-
Apple's Vision Pro goggles unleash a mixed reality that could lead to more innovation and isolation
Reporters are a skeptical bunch, so it was unusual to hear so many of them raving about their firsthand experience with Apple's next Big Thing: the high-priced headset called Vision Pro, a device infused with totally virtual reality as well as augmented reality that projects digital images on top of real-world settings.
-
Canadian military joined recent U.S. forum on UFOs; Pentagon trying to identify 'metallic' orbs
The Canadian military has confirmed it participated in a May 2023 forum for Five Eyes intelligence partners that was held by the director of the Pentagon's UFO research program.
Entertainment
-
Anguish, defiance, accusations: Takeaways from Prince Harry's day in court
Prince Harry testimony in a London court, both in cross-examination in the witness box and in his written witness statement, was rare and unusual. By turns defensive, frank and accusatory, his testimony shone a light on life as a royal and on Harry's bitter personal feud with the press. Here's what to know after a historic day at the High Court in London.
-
Artist Francoise Gilot, acclaimed painter who loved and later left Picasso, is dead at 101
Francoise Gilot, a prolific and acclaimed painter who produced art for well more than a half-century but was nonetheless more famous for her turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso -- and for leaving him -- died Tuesday in New York City, where she had lived for decades. She was 101.
-
Hollywood actors guild votes to authorize strike, as writers strike continues
Actors represented by the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA voted Monday evening to authorize a strike if they don't agree on a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies by June 30.
Business
-
Lululemon stands by decision to fire employees who intervened in robbery
Lululemon’s CEO Calvin McDonald said the retailer stands by its decision to fire two employees who tried to intervene during a theft at one of its stores.
-
Rent across Canada climbs to 20 per cent above pandemic lows: report
Across Canada, the average price of rent climbed back up after pandemic lows, with the monthly rate new tenants face now 20 per cent higher than it was two years ago, according to just-released rental data.
-
Wheat prices jump following collapse of major dam in southern Ukraine
Global prices for wheat and corn soared Tuesday after a major dam in Ukraine collapsed, renewing market fears about the fragility of the country's ability to ship food to Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia as it fights a war with Russia.
Lifestyle
-
June is rhubarb picking time in the garden, so pucker up
Years ago, when my now-grown daughter Justine was a toddler, we visited a U-pick farm where she plucked plump, ripe strawberries from a field of sprawling plants. Some made it into the basket on that sunny June day; others went directly into her mouth.
-
Kiefer Sutherland’s whisky brand raises more than $100,000 for N.S. wildfire relief efforts
A whisky brand co-founded by actor Kiefer Sutherland says it has raised more than $100,000 for relief efforts related to the ongoing Nova Scotia wildfires.
-
Blind Paralympian teams up with scent-trailing dog to find missing people
Jessica Tuomela is a swimmer and triathlete, and has been on the podium at the Paralympics, but says the feeling returning a missing person home safely is no comparison.
Sports
-
Yankees star Aaron Judge headed to injured list for 2nd time this season
Aaron Judge is headed to the injured list for the second time this season after the New York Yankees star hurt his right toe making a spectacular catch at Dodger Stadium.
-
Browns defensive players robbed of jewelry, vehicle by masked men in downtown stickup
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski expressed relief that two of his defensive players were not physically harmed while being robbed at gunpoint by six masked men outside a downtown nightclub.
-
PGA-LIV merger shocks golf world ahead of Canadian Open
On the eve of the RBC Canadian Open, news of a merger between the PGA Tour, European Tour and LIV Golf shocked the golf world -- including one of Canada's best players.
Autos
-
Vehicle theft soared in 2022, led by Quebec and Ontario: report
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
-
Ontario commits to cover 1/3 cost of Stellantis deal, Ford urges feds to close deal
Ontario has committed to paying a third of the cost to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., premier Doug Ford said Thursday.
-
Ex Formula One boss Ecclestone pleads not guilty to fraud charge
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday formally pleaded not guilty to a fraud charge over his alleged failure to declare millions of dollars held in a trust in Singapore to Britain's government.
