The Jan. 6 committee filed a request for a district judge to review emails that former White House legal counsel John Eastman has attempted to shield from the panel as it investigates former President Donald Trump’s schemes to stay in power after Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol filed the request in the Central District of California with Judge David Carter, who in March ruled that Eastman, who has invoked attorney-client privilege, must turn over 101 emails in a decision which also found that Trump “more likely than not” illegally tried to obstruct Congress from fulfilling its electoral duties.
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“Congressional Defendants respectfully ask the Court to conduct an in camera inspection of the remaining 562 documents to determine: (1) the validity of Dr. Eastman’s privilege assertions, (2) whether Dr. Eastman has waived any applicable privileges, and (3) whether Congressional Defendants’ compelling need and/or the crime-fraud exception overcome any applicable privileges,” says the filing, which was submitted late Monday.
The “in camera” review will allow the judge to determine if documents should be released to other parties, and the committee believes the cache of emails Eastman has refused them access to do not actually fall under attorney-client or attorney work-product privileges. Carter’s study of the emails will determine if they are protected and lend insight into whether Eastman claimed protected status in order to stop the committee from accessing them to mine more details about Trump’s quest to remain president.
Carter’s March ruling made waves when he said Trump and Eastman likely knew that their plans to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election were illegal. Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, culminated in a riot on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters trying to prevent Congress from certifying the election.
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“If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution,” Carter wrote in March. “If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”
Another Jan. 6 committee hearing will be held before the midterm elections in November, likely on Oct. 13. It was originally scheduled for last week but postponed due to Hurricane Ian.
