Jack Smith Delivers FATAL BLOW in Trump Investigation
by Michael Popok
MeidasTouch
Mar 22, 2023
Michael Popok of Legal AF reports on new bombshell appellate decision against Trump, upholding trial judge’s finding that Trump likely committed crime regarding handling of Mar a Lago documents, waiving any attorney client privilege, and compelling his attorney Evan Corcoran to appear again before the grand jury to testify and to produce to the DOJ his attorney notes and phone call transcripts immediately. Will Trump appeal next to the Supreme Court?
Transcript
0:00
says Michael popock legal if well we
0:02
already have a ruling by the DC
0:04
appellate three-judge panel against
0:07
Donald Trump against his uh lawyer Evan
0:11
Corcoran the lead lawyer in everything
0:13
related to Mar-A-Lago and the documents
0:16
National Security documents that were
0:18
improperly retained and that criminal
0:20
investigation by Jack Smith you might be
0:22
thinking didn't I just hear earlier
0:24
today on another hot take bite from
0:26
popock and legal AF that they just fully
0:28
briefed it over an eight-hour period by
0:31
order of the Appellate Court and it only
0:33
all got briefed just by 6 a.m how could
0:37
we possibly be talking about a ruling
0:38
just eight hours later we're done ladies
0:40
and gentlemen we are completely done
0:42
this is a 14-hour process by the
0:45
Appellate Court three judge panel and
0:47
they have ruled against Donald Trump
0:48
they have ruled to support the trial
0:51
judge the then chief judge of the D.C
0:53
Circuit Court Beryl Howell who at the
0:56
time until she left the position and
0:59
became just a regular regular old trial
1:00
judge she was responsible for all of the
1:03
grand juries in the District of Columbia
1:05
that including the ones Jack Smith is
1:08
Prosecuting in front of related to
1:11
Donald Trump
1:12
Evan Corcoran who had
1:16
um all of the decision making related to
1:19
the Mar-A-Lago documents from the
1:20
beginning from the initial interaction
1:23
between Donald Trump and the National
1:25
Archives the pretty please return all
1:27
the documents all the way to the
1:29
subpoena that the Department of Justice
1:31
had an issue because they were getting
1:33
foot dragging from Donald Trump and
1:35
getting nonsense and and fraudulent and
1:38
false statements being made to them even
1:40
by lawyers and then the search warrant
1:42
in June all of that Evan Corcoran
1:44
touched all of that fingerprints are on
1:46
all of that and he's Christina Bob's
1:48
boss for the purposes of interacting
1:50
with the Department of Justice
1:51
Department of Justice filed evidence
1:54
with Barrel Howell on Friday to convince
1:57
her based on the evidence that they had
1:59
that they at least had a prima fascia
2:03
um uh amount of evidence present to
2:06
establish that Donald Trump committed a
2:09
crime related to the Mar-A-Lago
2:10
documents and that he willingly or
2:13
unwittingly had his lawyers involved in
2:17
that process in other words he used the
2:20
lawyers to perpetrate the crime the The
2:23
Waiting or unwitting part is whether the
2:25
lawyers knew it doesn't matter under the
2:27
crime fraud exception of the
2:29
attorney-client privilege which we've
2:31
talked a lot about and in piercing the
2:33
attorney-client privilege it doesn't
2:34
matter whether the lawyer participated
2:37
willingly in that conspiracy or was
2:39
duped by his own client it just matters
2:42
whether there was a fraud or a crime
2:44
committed in the obtaining of the legal
2:47
advice in the communications and Barrel
2:49
Howell on Friday ruled that there was
2:51
Trump and Corcoran move for an appeal
2:54
and to stay the order and while the
2:57
Appellate Court gave them the briefest
2:59
of stays really just from Saturday until
3:02
Wednesday that's it they said we're
3:06
going to brief this really really
3:07
quickly we're going to make this
3:08
decision really quickly why why you
3:10
might be wondering are they moving so
3:12
quickly I'll give you one reason it may
3:14
be because Jack Smith is on a fast track
3:18
to making a charging decision an
3:21
indictment of Donald Trump related to
3:23
Mar-A-Lago of all of the moving parts of
3:25
all the grand juries in Washington we've
3:28
always thought on our podcast legal AF
3:30
that the one that Jack Smith was closest
3:33
to the simplest case was Mar alago and
3:36
the fact that the Appellate Court moved
3:38
so quickly off of the ruling on Friday
3:40
by judge Beryl Howell indicates to me
3:43
that that the Department of Justice has
3:45
let it be known that they're at the very
3:47
end they're on the if they're not on the
3:49
one-yard line of making the charging
3:51
decision
3:52
which of course is a recommendation by
3:55
the special counsel to Merrick Garland
3:57
Merrick Garland can override it I don't
4:00
think he will here and then it's the
4:02
indict it it goes it's getting the
4:04
indictment
4:05
um from return from the grand jury
4:08
they're moving awful quick here about
4:11
top secret documents could be National
4:13
Security rationale for that more likely
4:16
department of justice has got an itchy
4:18
trigger finger and they want to indict
4:20
indict indict they need Evan Corcoran to
4:22
go back in without attorney-client
4:24
privilege and do it so we've got a
4:26
ruling today we've got a ruling just
4:28
hours after the full briefing by Donald
4:31
Trump's lawyers and team and the
4:33
Department of Justice working throughout
4:35
the night and early morning to
4:36
accommodate this trial deadline set by
4:39
the three-judge panel and the
4:40
three-judge panel took another seven
4:42
hours and reviewed everything and did
4:44
the following one they said we're
4:46
getting rid of the stay that
4:48
administrative stay we put in place just
4:50
to hold the ring while we looked at the
4:52
issue that's going on Barrel Howell's
4:54
decision ordering Evan Corcoran to
4:56
testify about what we think is six
4:58
topics in and around the subpoena and
5:01
search warrant uh that finding that
5:03
Beryl Howell made about the crime fraud
5:06
exception applies we support it we are
5:10
going to uphold her decision to compel
5:13
Evan Corcoran to go back to the grand
5:15
jury could be as early as tomorrow to
5:18
give further testimony without the
5:20
benefit of protection of the
5:21
attorney-client privilege and by the way
5:23
for good measure the court has also
5:26
ruled because we can tell from the uh
5:28
the docket entry by the clerk on the on
5:32
the long written electronic docket for
5:34
every case that exists in Federal and
5:36
State Court we can tell from the clerk's
5:38
entry that the other component of the
5:41
order compels Evan Corcoran to turn over
5:45
his attorney notes on these issues and
5:48
even some phone call transcripts that
5:50
apparently Evan Corcoran has for phone
5:53
calls that he he I mean there's nothing
5:55
like not trusting your client you you
5:57
record phone calls and then you create
5:58
transcripts of those phone calls I mean
6:01
it's insane but he has them and now he's
6:03
been ordered by the Appellate Court in
6:05
the D.C circuit the three-judge panel to
6:07
turn those over to the Department of
6:09
Justice so he's got nowhere to hide
6:11
there's no more fig leaf for Donald
6:12
Trump or Evan Corcoran they got to go
6:15
into the belly the belly of the Beast
6:17
and now testify before the grand jury
6:19
without any insulation of the
6:21
attorney-client privilege so says the
6:23
three-judge panel a very interesting
6:25
three-judge panel not only three
6:27
Democratic appointed judges two of them
6:30
by Biden one of them Michelle Childs was
6:33
on the shortest of short lists to be a
6:36
U.S Supreme Court Justice in the seat
6:38
now occupied by katanji Brown Jackson if
6:41
you recall she was the one from South
6:43
Carolina that that Lindsey Graham was
6:45
pushing hard for Joe Biden to pick well
6:47
Joe Biden picked her but picked her for
6:49
this position where she's on the DC
6:51
Circuit Court of Appeals the highest
6:53
court just below the Supreme Court in
6:55
the hierarchy of all of the federal
6:57
courts that's where we are eight out you
7:00
know eight hours nine hours of briefing
7:02
nine hours of consideration by the three
7:04
judge panel so what happens next
7:06
everybody might be thinking we can't
7:07
wait for the next hot take Pope tell us
7:09
what happens next there's two two uh
7:12
different streams you know the road
7:14
divides as follows one Donald Trump can
7:17
ask for what's called an unbank review
7:20
by the entirety of every judge on the
7:23
D.C circuit that DC circuit bench which
7:26
is about 20 or so judges that skews
7:29
Democrat
7:31
I'm not sure he's going to win with an
7:33
on Bank review of what these three
7:35
judges did knowing these three judges
7:37
voted in UNIF in unanimity
7:41
um uh and completely 3-0 against Donald
7:45
Trump
7:46
um I think that's not going to work for
7:48
him at the on Bank level so he can skip
7:50
that take that order and ask for an
7:53
emergency review by the U.S Supreme
7:55
Court
7:57
but he's got to go through one judge in
7:59
particular who is basically the Circuit
8:01
Judge or the duty judge over the D.C
8:03
circuit and that is the chief judge of
8:06
the United States John Roberts
8:09
John Roberts is going to have to if he's
8:11
asked buying a buying a quick
8:13
application which is as hard as Trump is
8:16
fighting tooth and nail to avoid Evan
8:18
corcoran's phone transcripts and and uh
8:22
notes to to go to the Department of
8:24
Justice to stop that from happening you
8:26
can be assured he's going to try to go
8:28
for a John Roberts special and get a um
8:31
uh a special fast Shadow docket review
8:35
now John Roberts has two choices he can
8:38
review the papers and make a decision on
8:40
his own he's empowered to do that on an
8:42
emergency appellate basis but he can ask
8:45
for a briefing to him he can put another
8:48
stay in place for a short amount of time
8:50
stop Evan Corcoran from testifying and
8:53
turning over those notes and ringing
8:55
that Bell which can't be unrung until
8:57
John Roberts has an opportunity on a
9:00
fast track to look at the papers sort of
9:02
like with the three judges just did at
9:04
the DC Circuit Court he might give him
9:06
another week to brief everything and
9:08
hold the ring until until then or he can
9:11
decide to turn it over to the full
9:13
Supreme Court and let all nine justices
9:16
decide this issue so here is my
9:19
prediction Donald Trump skips the on
9:22
Bonk review doesn't ask for the full D.C
9:24
circuit to do it he does a fast track
9:26
you know Saturday night special to to
9:29
John Roberts he tries to convince John
9:31
Roberts alone to make the decision to
9:33
first grant a stay allow for full
9:36
briefing and make the decision himself
9:38
and not turn it over to the full panel
9:40
here's what I think happens Trump does
9:42
that John Roberts issues an order of
9:45
another administrative state for another
9:47
short amount of time maybe a week ask
9:50
for full briefing on a fast track
9:52
between Donald Trump's lawyers and the
9:54
Department of Justice just like they
9:56
just got through doing you know go take
9:58
a nap Department of Justice I know you
10:00
just finished your brief at 6am
10:02
or a little bit before because you're
10:04
going to be briefing again to the
10:05
Supreme Court I think starting maybe
10:07
even as early as tomorrow or later in
10:09
the week and then John Roberts is going
10:11
to decide given how important this
10:13
decision is and who the target is in
10:16
Donald Trump whether he's going to make
10:17
this decision himself rejecting or
10:20
granting
10:22
um the decision of the three judge panel
10:24
or he's going to kick it back to the
10:26
full panel the full nine of the Supreme
10:28
Court I think he kicks it back to the
10:30
full nine of the Supreme Court and then
10:32
we got to do the numbers we gotta you
10:33
know how high can you count and how many
10:36
people will support Donald Trump in this
10:38
now look up until now for those that are
10:41
just joining
10:42
generally this Supreme Court even though
10:45
right right wing and Maga has sided with
10:49
the Department of Justice and against
10:50
Donald Trump on issues related to
10:53
presidential papers
10:55
uh testimony at the Grand Jury level and
10:58
even a little bit of the attorney-client
11:00
relationship and privilege and
11:02
communication privilege those have
11:03
generally gone against Donald Trump even
11:06
though he hand-picked many of these
11:07
people on the Supreme Court but we're
11:09
going to have to see with this sort of
11:11
lawyers being asked to be Witnesses
11:13
compelled to be Witnesses with the
11:15
attorney-client privilege being stripped
11:17
away from them with attorney notes being
11:19
turned over this is Big Stake stuff now
11:22
this is high ticket stuff I think it
11:25
goes to the full U.S Supreme Court
11:26
eventually and I think they make a
11:29
ruling ultimately maybe five to four but
11:31
ultimately in favor of the Department of
11:33
Justice but we'll follow it just like
11:35
we're following all of these fast-moving
11:38
locomotives of stories around the
11:41
various jurisdictions criminally and
11:43
civilly on Donald Trump not just
11:46
District of Columbia Georgia with fawnee
11:49
Willis New York with Leticia James on
11:51
the Civil side Alvin Bragg on the
11:53
criminal side
11:54
and all the civil cases including the
11:57
Civil rape case which is now scheduled
11:58
to go to trial in New York against
12:00
Donald Trump on the 25th of April we
12:02
follow it all I do a hot take like this
12:05
I used to say about every day I'm doing
12:07
them about every hour now given how fast
12:10
this wheels of Justice are moving and
12:13
then to kind of bring it all together
12:14
every Wednesday and Saturday I co-anchor
12:18
a podcast called Legal AF which is the
12:21
leading political and legal podcast out
12:24
there we're doing it on YouTube we're
12:26
doing it on every place you can pull
12:27
your podcast and I we have co-anchors
12:29
Ben mysalis co-founder of Midas Touch
12:32
and a criminal defense lawyer at his own
12:34
right and a plaintiff's lawyer and Karen
12:36
Friedman agnifolo formerly the number
12:38
two prosecutor of the Manhattan DA's
12:41
office and she's got some very
12:42
insightful things to say about all
12:44
things Trump prosecution if you like
12:46
what I'm doing you can follow me on all
12:49
social media including Twitter at Ms
12:51
popoc this is Michael popock legal AF
1