WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has ordered Donald Trump’s attorney to turn over documents to U.S. prosecutors in connection with an investigation into whether classified information was mishandled after the former president left the White House.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday denied requests by Trump and his lawyers to halt a lower court order that would allow Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s office to pierce legal privileges that cover an attorney’s conversations with their client as well as their written work.
The latest order isn’t a final opinion on the merits of the fight, but it does indicate that a three-judge panel wasn’t persuaded at this stage that Trump is likely to win. Trump could ask all active judges on the D.C. Circuit to reconsider the panel’s decision or petition the U.S. Supreme Court to get involved.
