Ex-Trump lawyer John Eastman reportedly withholding about 3,200 documents from Jan. 6 committee


John Eastman, a far-right lawyer who worked with former President Donald Trump to contest the outcome of the 2020 election, still has yet to turn over approximately 3,200 Trump-related documents to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, CNN reports, per a new court filing.
Previously, Eastman was ordered to turn over 101 documents following an unsuccessful bid to safeguard some of his emails between Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, 2021, as confidential legal communications pertaining to Trump. Since then, the lawyer has "continued to work through nearly 100,000 pages of emails from his Chapman University account that the House Committee seeks from other dates around the election," CNN writes.
Eastman is claiming the thousands of documents should stay private and confidential — an argument a federal judge in California may continue to weigh.
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The judge's previous ruling that forced Eastman to fork over the 101 documents was a "pivotal moment in the investigation," and a setback for Eastman, CNN writes.
The ongoing lawsuit also serves as a reminder that the select committee is "tied up in court on multiple fronts," trying to enforce their subpoenas.
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
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