U.S. District Judge David Carter in Los Angeles claimed in a written decision that the House of Representatives committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack has the right to see an email written to Trump by one of his attorneys at the time. , John Eastman. Carter said Republican President Trump’s alleged plan to overthrow his November 2020 election defeat by Democrat Joe Biden was tantamount to a “coup.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “The court considers it more likely that President Trump tried corruptly to prevent the Joint Congress meeting on January 6, 2021,” Carter said in a written statement, adding: “The illegality of the plan was obvious.” Trump’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Carter’s findings marked a major breakthrough for the Democrat-led Select Committee on Jan. 6, which earlier this month said it believed Trump may have committed multiple crimes. The commission is expected to make a formal request to the US Department of Justice to consider prosecuting Trump. “Today’s ruling is a victory for the rule of law and paves the way for the Select Committee to obtain material relevant to our inquiry,” said Missouri Republican Bennie Thompson and Republican Vice President Lynne Cheney of Wyoming. in a joint statement. US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally to challenge the certification of the results of the 2020 US presidential election by the US Congress in Washington, DC, USA, January 6, 2021. REUTERS / Jim Bourg / File Photo read more Both Carter and the commission have no authority to prosecute Trump. This decision should be made by US Attorney General Merrick Garland. Eastman will abide by the court ruling even though he disagrees with it, said Charles Burnham’s lawyer. Eastman has a professional duty to protect the trust of his customers, Burnham said. “The case of Dr. “Eastman v. The January 6 commission seeks to fulfill this responsibility,” Burnham said in a statement. “This is not an attempt to ‘hide’ documents or ‘obstruct’ congressional inquiries, as the January 6 committee falsely claims.” The US Department of Justice declined to comment on Carter’s decision. “As evidence continues to mount that Trump and many around him attempted a coup, it is still striking to see a federal judge reach that conclusion in writing,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. are not involved in the case. The Capitol uprising erupted as then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of both houses of Congress met to certify Biden as the winner of the election. “Dr. Eastman and President Trump have launched a campaign to overthrow Democratic elections, an action unprecedented in American history,” Carter wrote. “Their campaign was not limited to the ivory tower – it was a coup in search of a legal theory.” Before a crowd of thousands invaded the Capitol, Trump gave a fiery speech in which he falsely claimed his electoral defeat was the result of widespread fraud, a claim that was rejected by many courts, state election officials and members of his own administration. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Jan Wolfe. Additional references by Dan Whitcomb. Editing by Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama, Grant McCool and Cynthia Osterman Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
