House Jan. 6 Select Committee Asks Judge To Force John Eastman To Turn Over Emails

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The U.S. committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot said it has found enough evidence to conclude former President Donald Trump conspired to commit fraud and overturn the 2020 election.

In documents filed in federal court, the committee claimed Mr. Trump and his associates engaged in a "criminal conspiracy" to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The documents were filed to persuade a federal judge to force attorney John Eastman, who once ran Chapman University's Law School, to turn over emails he allegedly wrote laying out the blueprint for Trump to overturn the election.

Loyola Law Professor and Political Analyst Jessica Levinson explained why this came to head a now.

"What the House Committee is saying is, 'We have a lot of evidence. We've talked to a lot of people. We have a good faith belief that the former president and his attorney John Eastman engaged in a fraud or a crime to overturn the 2020 election.' That means no attorney/client privilege. 'Judge, please review and allow us to proceed.'"

It's been alleged that Eastman and Trump attempted to devise a scheme to convince former Vice President Pence to reject Biden's electoral votes.

The committee's request to break the attorney/client privilege for the former president and his lawyer is highly unusual.

"This is a big deal. I'm not aware of any other case where a House Committee has said, for instance, that what the former president has engaged in potentially gives rise to the crime of fraud exception. This shows that the House Committee, I think, is likely to refer criminal charges to the Department of Justice," Levinson said.

Congress cannot file criminal charges. So, if there is a referral, it will be up to the DOJ on whether to proceed with those charges.