A judge has granted federal investigators’ request to review communications involving an alleged bribe in exchange for a presidential pardon or sentence commutation.

At the heart of the case was whether the communications were protected by attorney-client privilege. Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia bypassed addressing whether the documents fell within the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege, a claim raised by federal investigators. She found instead that the Department of Justice could review the documents, since the communications were also sent to a third party who is not an attorney.