A federal judge in California stated former president Donald Trump and his lawyers promulgated claims of voter fraud in order to delay Congress’ counting of state electoral votes on January 6, 2021.
As part of an ongoing legal battle between the House select committee investigating the January 6 protest and Trump’s attorney John Eastman, U.S. district judge David O. Carter ordered the release of eight of Eastman’s subpoenaed emails to the committee on Wednesday.
Eastman is a “political conservative who supported former President Trump” and a self-described “activist law professor” who “worked with President Trump and his campaign on legal and political strategy regarding the November 3, 2020 election,” according to Carter, whom President Bill Clinton appointed in 1998.
Eastman has sought to keep his emails from the committee, claiming they are covered under attorney-client and work product privileges. Carter had released a number of Eastman’s emails to the committee already.
“The Court has previously determined President Trump more likely than not engaged in or planning an obstruction of an official proceeding,” the judge wrote, “and a conspiracy to defraud the United States … when he sought the advice of Dr. Eastman.”
Carter reviewed over 500 documents to determine whether Eastman’s assertion is valid or whether the communications should be disclosed under the crime-fraud exception, which applies when a client consults an attorney in furtherance of fraud or crime.
He concluded that “the crime-fraud exception applies to eight communications” and subsequently ordered all eight emails be turned over to the House select committee.
“There are four documents in which Dr. Eastman and other attorneys suggest that — irrespective of the merits — the primary goal of filing is to delay or otherwise disrupt the January 6 vote,” claimed Carter.
Carter referenced one email in which Trump’s attorney stated that “[m]erely having this case pending in the Supreme Court, not ruled on, might be enough to delay consideration of Georgia.”
“This email, read in context with other documents in this review, make clear that President Trump filed certain lawsuits not to obtain legal relief, but to disrupt or delay the January 6 congressional proceedings through the courts,” the judge wrote. “The court finds that these four documents are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of the obstruction crime.”
Carter claimed the other four emails “demonstrate an effort by President Trump and his attorneys to press false claims in federal court for the purpose of delaying the January 6 vote. The evidence confirms that this effort was undertaken in at least one lawsuit filed in Georgia.”
“On December 4, 2020, President Trump and his attorneys alleged in a Georgia state court action that Fulton County improperly counted a number of votes,” wrote Carter. “President Trump and his attorneys then decided to contest the state court proceeding in federal court and discussed incorporating by reference the voter fraud numbers alleged in the state petition.”
“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and in public,” he continued. “The Court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
The judge concluded, “Accordingly, the Court ORDERS Dr. Eastman to disclose these four communications to the Select Committee.”
On Thursday, Donald Trump responded to these allegations on his social media platform Truth Social account, saying, “Who’s this Clinton-appointed’ Judge,’ David Carter, who keeps saying, and sending to all, very nasty, wrong, and ill-informed statements about me on rulings, or a case (whatever!), currently going on in California, that I know nothing about — nor am I represented.”
The former president continued, “With that being said, please explain to this partisan hack that the Presidential Election of 2020 was Rigged and Stolen. Also, he shouldn’t be making statements about me until he understands the facts, which he doesn’t!”
