Attorney John Eastman, who worked closely with Donald Trump amid his effort to overturn the 2020 election, is attempting to shield more than 10,000 pages of emails and counting from congressional investigators, citing attorney-client or attorney work-product privileges, according to Politico.
Eastman spoke at the “stop the steal” rally that preceded the deadly riot at the US Capitol on January 6 as part of Trump’s attempt to pressure then Vice President Mike Pence to subvert election results.
“This is bigger than President Trump. It is the very essence of our Republican form of government and it has to be done,” Eastman told the crowd. “And anybody that is not willing to stand up to do it does not deserve to be in the office. It is that simple.”
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack subpoenaed more than 94,000 pages of emails from Chapman University, where Eastman worked at the time of the insurgency.
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In a court filing lodged Monday, Eastman claimed attorney-client privilege in an attempt to keep 11,000 pages of emails from House investigators.
In January, U.S. District Court Judge James Carter ordered Eastman to sift through around 46,000 pages of emails to see if any privileges apply.
Eastman has handed around 8,000 pages of emails to the committee so far, but is seeking to shield a further 11,000 pages.
