© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: M. Evan Corcoran, an attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon, arrives after his client’s trial on charges of contempt for congressional charges for contempt of court. refuses to cooperate with the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee
By Andrew Goudward
(Reuters) – An attorney for former President Donald Trump has hired an attorney to represent him as prosecutors step up their investigation into the handling of sensitive documents at Trump’s Florida residence, two familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Evan Corcoran, who has represented Trump in interactions with the government about presidential files brought to his Mar-a-Lago resort, turned to Michael Levy, a prominent white-collar lawyer. in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter.
Levy was hired by Corcoran’s law firm, Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White, to represent Corcoran in the investigation, according to a source.
Levy, principal at the law firm Ellerman Enzinna Levy in Washington, declined to comment.
Corcoran appeared before a grand jury in connection with US Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into classified documents brought to Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s presidency and possible efforts to obstruct that investigation. He appeared before a grand jury in early January, according to a person familiar with his appearance.
The New York Times reported this week that US prosecutors are seeking to re-interrogate Corcoran, asking a US judge to breach attorney-client privilege by arguing that they discovered provide evidence of a crime.
Corcoran contacted both the National Archives and the US Department of Justice last year as the government sought to return presidential records brought to Mar-a-Lago, according to documents released as a part of a lawsuit Trump filed last year demanding an independent review of documents Mr. FBI seized at Mar-a-Lago.
Another Trump attorney, Christina Bobb, signed a confirmation that all classified documents were returned before the FBI found about 100 more classified documents during an August 2022 search, according to prosecutors pellets.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and claims, without providing evidence, that all documents at his residence have been declassified.
Levy worked with Corcoran in the 1990s as a federal prosecutor in Washington, DC. He’s been involved in a number of high-profile cases throughout his career, including representing Enron executives in the wake of the company’s 2001 collapse.
Levy previously served as a white-collar partner at major law firms Paul Hastings and Mayer Brown.
