Former President Donald Trump’s campaign lashed out at ABC News over a damaging report alleging Special Counsel Jack Smith has shown Trump “committed criminal violations” when he deliberately misled his own lawyers about classified documents.
At issue is an ABC News report by Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin, and Lucien Bruggeman on a sealed filing in which U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell wrote that Smith’s team has made a “prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,” and ordered testimony and document production from Trump attorney Evan Corcoran:
Sources added that Howell also ordered Corcoran to hand over a number of records tied to what Howell described as Trump’s alleged “criminal scheme,” echoing prosecutors. Those records include handwritten notes, invoices, and transcriptions of personal audio recordings.
In reaching the so-called prima facie standard to pierce Corcoran’s privilege, Howell agreed prosecutors made a sufficient showing that on its face would appear to show Trump committed crimes. The judge made it clear that prosecutors would still need to meet a higher standard of evidence in order to seek charges against Trump, and more still to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
On Tuesday night, Trump’s campaign tore into ABC News in a statement emailed to Mediaite that took aim at the judge as well:
Trump Campaign Statement on Fake ABC News Story
“Shame on Fake News ABC for broadcasting ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations from a Never Trump, now former chief judge, against the Trump legal team. This disinformation is on par with their breathless Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine and “no-collusion” Mueller speculation, all of which were totally disproven. These leaks are happening because there is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump. The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and weaponizing the justice system in order to manipulate public opinion, because they are clearly losing the political battle.
“The real story here, that Fake News ABC SHOULD be reporting on, is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever.
“President Trump is the only leader fighting for the Constitution in order to protect the American people from being abused by a crooked system.
The documents probe is just one of many investigations into Trump, including Smith’s probe of Trump’s conduct surrounding the January 6 insurrection, as well as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ grand jury investigation of Trump’s effort to overturn election results in Georgia and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s probe over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
