Former President Donald Trump is facing a criminal case for being accused to be part of 2020’s election overturn.
The house committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot has announced it has evidence concluding that former President Donald Trump and his associates may have committed crimes in their attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Lawyers of former President Donald Trump and the New York attorney general have reached an agreement to postpone depositions in the civil investigation, allowing Mr. Trump to get at least a few months before he has to testify as part of an investigation into his business.
Trump and some of his allies partook in a “criminal conspiracy” in efforts to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory, the House select committee stated in a court filing.
The committee wrote in the filing submitted in US District Court in the Central District of California: “The Select Committee also has a good-faith basis for concluding that the President and members of his Campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
Written by house general counsel Douglas Letter, the filing states the committee’s evidence “provides, at minimum, a good-faith basis for concluding that President Trump has violated” the obstruction count.
The 221-page filing accuses Trump and his allies of possibly violating multiple federal laws as they pressured state officials to overturn the election results.
Lawyers for the house wrote: “Evidence and information available to the Committee establish 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.”
Eastman and Trump have not been accused of any crime by federal or state prosecutors, and no top advisers around Trump have been charged for January 6 related crimes.
The house has no ability to bring criminal charges. A judge overseeing the civil lawsuit will review the emails himself and decide whether they should stay protected.
The court document was filed in federal court in Los Angeles as part of the Select Committee’s dispute with John Eastman, a lawyer who advised Trump on a plan to invalidate election results in key battleground states. Eastman sued the committee in December, seeking to block a congressional subpoena requesting that he turn over thousands of emails.
Charles Burnham, a lawyer for Eastman, said in a statement that Eastman is abiding by his ethical duty to protect client confidences. Burnham said: “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,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly called the Select Committee’s inquiry a politically motivated investigation. Eastman said: “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.”
The committee’s leaders said in a statement that “Eastman’s emails may show that he helped Donald Trump advance a corrupt scheme to obstruct the counting of electoral college ballots and a conspiracy to impede the transfer of power.”
The Justice Department has charged more than 750 participants, including some it says engaged in conspiracies, in the pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol, which interrupted Congress from its session certifying the election.
Attorney regulators in California said they have been investigating Eastman and whether he acted unethically in his work for Trump. The investigation could lead to disciplinary action against Eastman, such as suspension of his law license.