(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump adviser John Eastman's emails may have evidence the former president and his associates committed crimes in attempting to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results, a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection said in a court filing.
It's the first public signal that the committee is looking into criminal activity by those within Trump's inner circle.
The committee says the emails may contain evidence of obstruction of an official proceeding -- a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison -- a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and common law fraud.
“Evidence and information available to the committee establishes a good-faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may have engaged in criminal and/or fraudulent acts, and that plaintiff's legal assistance was used in furtherance of those activities,” the committee said in a filing Wednesday in federal court in Santa Ana, California.
Eastman sued to block the release of emails the committee is seeking, citing attorney-client and attorney work-product privileges.
“Like all attorneys Dr. John Eastman has a responsibility to protect client confidences, even at great personal risk and expense,” Eastman's lawyer Charles Burnham said in an emailed statement. “The Select Committee has responded to Dr. Eastman's efforts to discharge this responsibility by accusing him of criminal conduct. Because this is a civil matter, Dr. Eastman will not have the benefit of the Constitutional protections normally afforded to those accused by their government of criminal conduct. Nonetheless, we look forward to responding in due course.”
Two-Page Memo
Eastman drafted a two-page memo after the 2020 election that outlined ways for Vice President Mike Pence to derail the count of Electoral College votes in Congress on Jan. 6, thereby denying Joe Biden's clear victory and handing the election to Trump. He also spoke alongside Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani at a Jan. 6 rally that preceded the storming of the Capital.
Following the riot, Eastman “sent an email to Vice President Pence's lawyer stating: ‘The ‘siege' is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so the American people can see for themselves what happened,” according to the court filing.
“Later that evening, plaintiff made a final plea to the vice [resident's lawyer: ‘I implore you to consider one more relatively minor violation [of the Electoral Count Act] and adjourn for 10 days to allow the legislatures to finish their investigations, as well as to allow a full forensic audit of the massive amount of illegal activity that has occurred here,” he wrote, according to the committee.
Eastman knew what he was proposing would violate the law, but he nonetheless urged the vice president to take those actions, the committee said.
While the Jan. 6 panel does not have authority to pursue criminal charges, it can provide the Justice Department with evidence of any illegality if uncovers.
Eastman was also a central figure in the effort to encourage Pence to reject the electors from several states and in the strategy to facilitate different slates of electors, the committee said.
The sought-after emails date between Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, 2021, and involve Eastman's communications immediately before and after the Capitol attack. The committee and House lawyers have underscored that significance to U.S. District Judge David Carter in Santa Ana.
Crime-Fraud Exception
In the new filings Wednesday, the panel for the first time specifically cites the Federal Crime-Fraud Exception to argue that Eastman's claims to attorney-client and attorney work-product privileges don't apply -- and are not a legal shield to blocking the release of those emails.
Attorney-client privilege, in most instances, doesn't cover statements made by a client to their lawyer if they were meant to further or conceal a crime.
Eastman has been in a running battle with the committee over turning over the emails that are in possession of his former employer, Chapman University, and other documents.
He also sued Verizon Corp. in Washington to block the release of his phone records to the Jan. 6 committee.
The case is Eastman v. Thompson, 8:22-cv-00099, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Santa Ana).
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