A federal judge on Friday rejected Donal Trump’s attorney John Eastman’s “emergency request” in which he asked the court to block federal investigators from using the contents of his phone in their probe.
Eastman’s cell phone was seized by Justice Department investigators after Eastman was searched as part of a January 6-related criminal inquiry, CNN reports.
According to the news network, US District Judge Robert Brack rejected Eastman’s arguments for emergency help from the court in an opinion Friday and alidated the court-approved warrant that had enabled the FBI to take and unlock Eastman’s phone when agents approached him outside a restaurant in New Mexico last month.
In his ruling, the judge noted that the Justice Department would get a second warrant before searching the phone. It’s unknown whether the DOJ has taken that step.
Brack also rejected Eastman’s argument that his communications could be protected under the First Amendment.
RELATED: Jan 6 Co-Conspirator John Eastman Scrambles To Keep 11,000 Emails Away From House Investigators.
“The Government’s interest in investigating the January 6 attacks on the Capitol is substantial,” the judge said, according to CNN.
