Donald Trump Likely Doomed by 'Stunning Development' in Mar-a-Lago Case

Donald Trump is facing legal peril amid reports that one of his lawyers gave him several months warning that the FBI could arrive at his Mar-a-Lago resort to retrieve classified documents they sought, according to a legal expert.

Legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance was reacting to voice notes from Trump attorney Evan Corcoran, obtained by ABC News, which suggest the former president was told in May 2022 that federal agents would search his Florida estate for sensitive materials if he did not comply with a federal subpoena to return them.

The conversations cast major doubts on Trump's original claims that he was not prepared for the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, which he described on Truth Social as "a horrible and shocking BREAK-IN."

Trump is also accused of directing Mar-a-Lago workers Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira to move boxes of sensitive materials around the resort in order to prevent federal agents from finding the boxes of classified documents. Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against them, including conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Mar-a-Lago, on April 4, 2023. Trump was allegedly warned by one of his lawyers that the FBI could search Mar-a-Lago if he didn't comply with a grand jury subpoena for classified documents. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"Trump knew that a search was likely in the works when he set Nauta and De Oliveira to the task of removing boxes from storage in Mar-a-Lago, and subsequently returning fewer of them than were removed," Vance wrote on Substack.

"The inference is that Trump knowingly removed items he did not want prosecutors to find. That's a stunning development and advance in what we know about Jack Smith's evidence against Trump on the obstruction charge," she said. "So much for Trump's outraged protestations the day of the search that it happened without warning."

Vance added that the allegations against Trump are especially damning as the government "bent over backwards" to give the former president the opportunity to return classified documents they sought under subpoena.

"He didn't do so, even removing some once he learned a search was possible," Vance wrote. "Prosecutors can argue to jurors that the evidence shows that Trump deliberately secreted items out of view of his lawyers and also of DOJ, anticipating the search. The evidence against Trump could get even worse for Trump if his remaining co-defendants flip."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's legal team via email for comment.

The federal indictment filed against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith in June 2023 detailed how Trump asked his attorneys, "What happens if we just don't respond at all or don't play ball with them?" after being informed last May about the federal subpoena for the classified documents.

According to transcripts of Corcoran's voice notes, the attorney replied to the former president: "Well, there's a prospect that they could go to a judge and get a search warrant and that they could arrive here."

The indictment suggests that Trump still didn't want to comply with the federal subpoena, telling his lawyers "I don't want anybody looking through my boxes," and, "Wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here?"

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told ABC News: "The attorney-client privilege is one of the oldest and most fundamental principles in our legal system, and its primary purpose is to promote the rule of law.

"Whether attorneys' notes are detailed or not makes no difference—these notes reflect the legal opinions and thoughts of the lawyer, not the client."