Former Trump Land-Use Lawyer Ordered to Give Documents to N.Y. AG

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By Erik Larson
November 2, 2020

A former land-use lawyer for Donald Trump’s company was ordered by a New York judge to hand over hundreds of documents to state officials investigating whether the president’s real-estate business falsely reported property values to get loans or tax benefits.

Charles Martabano went too far in asserting attorney-client privilege over documents relating to his past work for the Trump Organization, Justice Arthur Engoron ruled Oct. 30. The judge reviewed the documents before ordering Martabano to hand them over to New York Attorney General Letitia James.


Engoron agreed with James that some of the lawyer’s private communication lost their privilege after they were later revealed to third parties. The judge also said documents about business decisions aren’t automatically privileged just because a lawyer was involved.

“The mere presence of an attorney on an email chain amongst an organization’s employees does not trigger the cloak of attorney-client privilege,” Engoron wrote. “Moreover, a client waives the privilege if communications are made in the presence of a third party.”

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-02/ex-trump-land-use-lawyer-ordered-to-give-documents-to-n-y-ag

[lagomorph777]

1. Uh-oh - that's gonna freak out Turd at a moment when he can ill afford to freak out.