House January 6 committee seeks more John Eastman emails

By Mary Kay Mallonee, CNN

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack is seeking another 3,200 pages of emails from John Eastman, the Trump attorney who spearheaded the far-fetched legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence could block Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s win.

The committee told a federal judge in California in a filing late Wednesday that it needs the additional documents “so that it may complete its efforts, including preparation of the final report” before the end of the year.

In the filing, House counsel Douglas Letter asked US District Court Judge David Carter to review the remaining batch of emails and decide whether Eastman’s claims of executive privilege are valid.

Letter said that recent back and forth communication with Eastman’s attorneys about the remaining emails that appeared to go nowhere.

“In light of this exchange over the past month or so, it seems clear that further consultation with Plaintiff’s counsel will not result in the Select Committee receiving the material that it seeks in a timely manner,” the filing states. “Accordingly, the Select Committee now moves for this Court to review and rule on Plaintiff’s claims of privilege” for the remaining documents.

Earlier this year, the committee subpoenaed Chapman University, where Eastman was employed during the bid to overturn the election results, for emails he sent on his university email account. Eastman challenged the subpoena in court in the Central District of California.

Carter has since helped the committee obtain scores of Eastman’s emails.

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