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March 19 (UPI) -- A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump's attorney Evan Corcoran to testify before a grand jury over the former president's handling of classified documents. Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled that Corcoran can be examined under a specific line of questioning as it relates to Trump's handling of documents, CNN reported.
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The judge's decision bypasses Corcoran's claims of attorney-client privilege that have allowed him to avoid certain questions when testifying to the grand jury. The Justice Department's special counsel Jack Smith is particularly interested in a call between Corcoran and Trump in June, according to CNN.
Howell rejected Corcoran's attorney-client privilege claim on the grounds that his conversations with the former president may have helped further Trump's alleged criminal activity, The Guardian reported.
The questioning of Corcoran will be limited to his discussions with Trump about how to comply with a subpoena requesting him to turn over classified documents.
Corcoran is expected to appeal the order, CBS News reported.
A spokesperson for Trump called the judge's decision a "violation of due process" in comments to CNN.
"Whenever prosecutors target the attorneys, that's usually a good indication their underlying case is very weak," the Trump flack said.
"If they had a real case, they wouldn't need to play corrupt games with the Constitution. Every American has the right to consult with counsel and have candid discussions -- this promotes adherence to the law."
The FBI recovered more than 100 documents marked "classified" in a raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in August. Additional classified documents that were found in a storage unit were turned over to authorities about four months later.
Trump's attorneys submitted some classified documents in a single envelope in June, according to CBS News.
