John Eastman, the attorney who wrote the infamous “coup memo” laying out how Donald Trump could potentially remain in office even though he had overwhelmingly lost the 2020 election, conceded in court filing that if he’s forced to release emails between him and Trump that have been subpoenaed by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection, it would amount to a “finding of Presidential criminality by a federal court.”
According to Politico, Eastman is asking U.S. District Court Judge David Carter to delay release of the material:
“In responding to these claims, [Eastman] is effectively forced into the position of acting as a pseudo-defense attorney for the former President,” writes his attorney Charles Burnham. “If the former President had himself been charged with these alleged crimes, it could easily be years before an ultimate decision was reached by a judge or jury.
If Judge Carter refuses to grant the delay, Eastman could be forced to hand over the documents in question, and it’s clear the committee considers the emails to be the cornerstone of the case they’re building that the ex-president “criminally conspired to subvert the democratic process.” The committee will likely make a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Trump to be charged with that and other federal crimes.
The select committee laid out its most detailed case yet this week that it believes Trump, along with Eastman, broke federal laws as they pushed states, Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election. They say Trump, who had been repeatedly told by staff that he had been defeated, nevertheless enlisted Eastman and others to attempt to overturn the election, even if it required violating federal laws like the Electoral Count Act. They say the evidence would support a case against Trump for felony obstruction of an official proceeding — Congress’ Jan. 6 session.
Others members of the Trump administration — including former chief of staff Mark Meadows — may also be referred for indictment by the Jan. 6 panel, along with some members of Congress, most notably Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
